R v Tran - [2020] NZHC 2633

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TĀMAKI MAKAURAU ROHE

CRI-2019-004-006965

[2020] NZHC 2633

THE QUEEN

v

ALAN TRAN

Hearing: 6 October 2020

Appearances:

N R Webby & A J A Gee for Crown

R M Mansfield & H R Smith for Defendant

Sentence:

6 October 2020

SENTENCE OF PAUL DAVISON J

Solicitors:
Crown Solicitor, Auckland

R v TRAN [2020] NZHC 2633 [6 October 2020]

[1] Mr Tran, having earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing the Class A controlled drug methamphetamine, for supply, you appear before the Court this morning for sentencing. Your offending relates to the 109.6 kilograms of methamphetamine which was found by Police and Customs to be in your possession.

[2]I note that you are 27 years old.

Your Offending

[3] You travelled to New Zealand from Sydney on 17 June 2019. This was your first trip to New Zealand. A fortnight after you arrived your associate Mr Michael Navarro also travelled to Auckland from Sydney and the two of you then worked together in relation to this drug operation.

[4] It appears that your role in the drug operation was that of collecting and moving methamphetamine after its arrival in New Zealand.

[5] On arrival you rented a car using your Australian driver’s licence as identification, and on 20 July 2019 you hired a truck, again using your Australian driver’s licence as identification.

[6] On 22 July 2019 you and Mr Navarro together went to rented residential premises in Chonny Crescent, Manurewa where Mr Navarro had arranged for the windows to be tinted and darkened. Later that afternoon you went in the truck you had rented to the premises of Storage King in Merton Road where you were given access to the storage units and you went into one of the units. On 24 July you and Mr Navarro went together to the Bunnings store in New Lynn where you purchased protective wear and a circular saw. Having purchased those items you then travelled to the Chonny Crescent address where you went inside and remained for over an hour before travelling to a residential address in Avondale where Mr Navarro was staying, and where you too stayed some of the time.

[7] The premises at Chonny Crescent were being used to store a large quantity of methamphetamine that you had no doubt transported from the Storage King storage unit to that address and it appears that you and Mr Navarro were together involved in

using the power tools that had been purchased and other hand tools to disassemble and access the concealed methamphetamine from the plastic pallets.

[8] On 25 July 2019 the Police and Customs executed search warrants at the Chonny Crescent address and at the rented premises in Avondale where it appears you and Mr Navarro had been staying.

[9] Inside the Chonny Crescent address were four A4 sized plastic bags containing methamphetamine and 126 plastic pallets in which methamphetamine was concealed in specially…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading R v Tran

Details

AGLC: R v Tran [2020] NZHC 2633
Case: [2020] NZHC 2633
Decision Date: 6 October 2020

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The defendant, Alan Tran, pleaded guilty to possessing 109.6 kilograms of methamphetamine for supply. The case was heard in the High Court of New Zealand, Auckland Registry. The court needed to determine an appropriate sentence for Mr Tran, taking into account the quantity of drugs involved, his role in the drug operation, and any mitigating factors.

Mr Tran's role in the drug operation was to collect and move the methamphetamine after its arrival in New Zealand. He rented a car and a truck, and assisted in extracting the drugs from plastic pallets. The Crown argued for a starting point of 22 years' imprisonment, while the defence suggested a 21-year starting point. The court found that Mr Tran's role was more serious than that of a mere "catcher" but did not place him in the "significant" category as defined in Zhang v R. The court adopted a starting point of 21 years' imprisonment.

The court considered mitigating factors such as Mr Tran's previous good character, his young age, and the impact of serving a lengthy term of imprisonment away from his family. The court also took into account Mr Tran's guilty plea. A total reduction of 30% was applied to the starting point, resulting in a sentence of 14 years and 7 months' imprisonment.

The court decided to impose a minimum period of imprisonment (MPI) of 7 years, given the significant quantity of methamphetamine involved in the case. The MPI was deemed necessary to meet the sentencing objectives of accountability, denunciation, and deterrence. In addition to the prison sentence, the court made an order under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 in respect of all items found, apart from the $70,000 sum.

Orders