Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2003]JRC173

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

 

9^th October 2003

 

 

The Attorney General

-v-

Stephen William Darren

 

Sentencing by the Superior Number of the Royal Court, to which the Defendant was remanded by the Inferior Number on 18^th July, 2003, following a guilty plea to:

 

1 count of:

Possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply, contrary to Article 6(2) of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey), Law, 1978: Count 1: cannabis resin.

 

[On the 18^th July, 2003, the defendant pleaded Not Guilty to 1 count of possession of cannabis resin, which plea was accepted by the Crown.]

 

Age:     43.

 

Details of Offence:

Following a drugs search warrant with the assistance of a police drugs dog, a commercial amount of cannabis and cash was found partly hidden in an old motor vehicle and partly buried in the ground at a secluded wooded area in St Ouen.  A total of 48 nine-bars were found in a bag hidden in the engine compartment, as well as rubber gloves.  A further 28 nine-bars and 2 part nine-bars were found in a white container buried in the ground near the vehicle, together with £24,980 in cash.  A video recorder was set up to observe the vehicle, which had the appearance of not having moved for some considerable time.  The defendant was filmed driving up to the old car, opening the bonnet, almost immediately shutting it and walking briskly back to the vehicle in which he had arrived.  He was immediately arrested.  Officers and police drugs dog carried out a search of the defendant's home.  The dog indicated towards the safe, in which was found £4,000 in cash wrapped in a similar manner to the cash at the hide in St Ouen.  A search of the defendant's boat and the car he had driven to the hide proved negative.  DNA testing of the inside of the rubber gloves matched the DNA profile of the defendant.  At interview, the defendant gave no comment answers.  Total weight of cannabis just under 20 kilos: street value £112,320; wholesale value £78,000.

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea.  Counsel gave explanation consistent with contents of SER - that defendant was looking after drugs for someone else, who had purchased the old vehicle for its four digit registration number, but he had failed to fill in the documents to effect the transfer.  Reformed character since birth of his son.  Remorse.  References and personal letter from defendant to Court.

 

Previous Convictions:

9 convictions with 17 offences.  6 previous drugs offences between 1980 and 1987 - the latter being for importing drugs and sentenced by Chichester Crown Court to 12 months' imprisonment.

 

Conclusions:

Starting point of 8 years: 5 years' imprisonment.  Adjournment of confiscation order for 6 months under Article 3(a) Drug Trafficking Offences (Jersey) Law 1988.  Forfeiture and destruction of drugs.

 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

 

Conclusions granted.  Adjournment of confiscation Order for 2 months.

Forfeiture and destruction of drugs.

 

 

Mrs S. Sharpe, Crown Advocate.

Advocate C.M. Fogarty for Defendant.

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        This defendant was found in possession of some 19.5 kilos of cannabis with a street value of £112,000.  The cannabis was in a secluded wooded area in St Ouen.  It was split between an old car which was registered in the defendant's name and a hole which he had dug in the ground nearby.  The container in the ground also had some £25,000 in cash hidden in it.

2.        The defendant was arrested when he went to pick up the cannabis at the car.  When interviewed he gave a "no comment" interview.  He has now come forward with an explanation which is to the effect that the cannabis did not belong to him.  He says that he had sold the car for spares some 8 months earlier although it remained registered in his name as he wished to keep the number.

3.        The owner of the land had asked him to move the car.  When he passed this request on to the new owner of the car, who apparently lives in England, that owner told him about the presence of the cannabis in the car; and offered the defendant the sum of £2,000 to move the cannabis.  The defendant agreed to do so; in fact he only moved some of the cannabis and that was only a short distance by hiding it in the ground nearby, as we have described.

4.        The Court is sceptical of this late explanation which was not given to the police at the time but we are prepared to proceed on the basis that it is correct for the purposes of sentencing.  Nevertheless, the events show a considerable involvement on the part of the defendant.  The owner was apparently willing to confide in him that there existed over £100,000 worth of cannabis, together with £25,000 in cash in this car and to entrust that to him. 

5.        He took an active part in the concealing and future transfer of the cannabis, no doubt on to the market in due course.  The leading authority of Campbell [1995] JLR 136 gives a bracket of 6 - 10 years for between 10 and 30 kilos of cannabis resin.  We must have regard to the nature and scale of the defendant's involvement, but for the reasons which we have given we consider he was quite involved and we think that the Crown's starting point of 8 years is correct.

6.        In mitigation we take into account the guilty plea, where the Crown has allowed a full one-third.  We take into account also the gap in his record.  Although he has a bad record, since 1987 he had clearly made considerable efforts to turn his life around and has successfully done so save for a couple of minor convictions, which he was honest enough to admit, even though they did not initially show up in the criminal records check.

7.        We have read carefully the letters produced by defence counsel including, in particular, a reference from his sister, which was very impressive.  We take into account the effect on his family and all the matters which appear on the papers before us, but we think the Crown has allowed sufficient deduction for sentence.

8.        Sentence will therefore be one of 5 years' imprisonment on the one count on the indictment and we order the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.

Authorities

Campbell & Others [1995] JLR 136.

Whelan: Aspects of Sentencing in the Superior Courts of Jersey (2^nd Ed'n): p 66.

Thomas: Current Sentencing Practice: para C2-2D01.