Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2008]JRC186

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

31^st October 2008

The Attorney General

-v-

Adrian Wynne Jones

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, following a guilty plea to the following charge:

Age:  39.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

On 20^th July, 2008, Jones arrived on the Condor ferry in a vehicle and in the vehicle, a package wrapped as a birthday present was found to contain 4.9 kilos of cannabis resin.  He had purchased the drugs on tick for an agreed price of £4,000 and he intended to sell the drugs in Jersey for a minimum of £10,000 to help pay off debts.

Details of Mitigation:

Starting point too high - should be 4 years.  Should be given full third for plea.  Debts not drug debts - had been spending beyond his means and gambling.  Remorse.  Good work record, good future, good references.

Previous Convictions:

One relevant conviction; possession of a Class A drug in 2002 for which he was fined £500.

Conclusions:

Starting point 5 years.

Confiscation of £1001.03 with a benefit figure of £44,990.52 with a 1 month consecutive sentence of imprisonment in default of payment.

Forfeiture and destruction of drugs sought.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Conclusions granted.

R. C. L. Morley-Kirk, Crown Advocate.

Advocate P. S. Landick for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE BAILIFF:

1.        This defendant is to be sentenced on a single count of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on the importation of a controlled drug, namely cannabis.  Jones brought 4.9 grams of cannabis into Jersey which the Police state has a street value of £27,000.  Jones' intention was not to pass the drugs on to anyone else but to deal himself and to make a profit.

2.        The first matter that we have to consider is what the starting point should be.  The Crown Advocate has taken a starting point of 5 years imprisonment, taking the view that the defendant was not a mule but was involved to a greater extent in drug trafficking in that he was to sell the drugs himself.  We think that that approach is right and that a starting point of 5 years is correct.  We accept the submission of defence counsel that Jones is entitled to a full one third discount for his guilty plea which was in all the circumstances a valuable plea.  He could have denied that he knew what was inside the package but he immediately admitted to the Police Officers that the package contained drugs. 

3.        The defendant has a previous conviction for breach of the Misuse of Drugs legislation but that was some six or seven years ago.  At the end of the day, this defendant brought drugs to Jersey with the intention of making money from the venture.  It was a commercial operation into which he went with his eyes completely open.

4.        Jones, we have read your letter carefully and we are very glad to see that you are taking advantage of some of the opportunities available to you while you have been in custody, you have many good points in your favour and it gives the Court no pleasure to impose a custodial sentence upon you but you have, as you know, brought this upon yourself. 

5.        We think that the conclusions of the Crown Advocate are correct and you are accordingly sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment.

6.        We order the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.

Authorities

Campbell-v-AG [1995] JLR 136.