Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2011]JRC080

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

13^th April 2011

The Attorney General

-v-

Mohammed Kamruz Zaman

Sentencing by the Superior Number of the Royal Court, to which the accused was remanded by the Inferior Number on 28^th January, 2011, following a guilty plea to the following charge:

Age:  43.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

The defendant went to England in order to obtain 54.4 grams of heroin valued at £55,000, 50% for his own use and 50% for an unnamed individual.  He was stopped at the airport and an x-ray revealed internal concealment.  The purity of the heroin ranged from 21-32%.  In interview the defendant admitted that when he first came to Jersey six months previously he had imported 7 grams of heroin and on two further occasions he had imported 3-5 grams of heroin on each occasion.  He had also imported methadone into the island without a licence or prescription.  He refused to give the password for his phone and laptop and to give permission for officers to access his bank account. 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea - but inevitable due to internal concealment.  Letter expressing remorse.

Previous Convictions:

The defendant had a poor record including four drugs offences for possession of Class C and B drugs and other serious offences including robbery, theft, burglary, wounding and false imprisonment.  He had previously served four custodial sentences, the longest being two years.  He was assessed as being at high risk of  re-offending.

He was co-operative in that he disclosed the previous importations.

Conclusions:

Forfeiture and destruction of drugs sought.

Confiscation Order in the amount of £5,512.12 sought.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

The Court agreed that a 10 year starting point was correct as the defendant was not a mere courier.  In view of the mitigation being the guilty plea, his limited cooperation, his remorse and stated desire to remain clean of drugs and the fact he had been attending course in prison, the Court reduced the conclusion to a sentence of 6½ years. 

Forfeiture and destruction of drugs ordered.

Confiscation Order - postponed and referred to the Inferior Number.

S. E. Fitz, Crown Advocate.

Advocate J. N. Heywood for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE commissioner:

1.        Zaman has pleaded guilty to being concerned in the importation of 54 grams of heroin, with a street value of £55,000.  The drugs were concealed internally.  The heroin was in part for the defendant's own consumption, but was in part for onward sale for profit.  The defendant has a very bad record including convictions for drugs offences and for violence. 

2.        So far as the starting point is concerned, we have considered the guideline case of Rimmer and Others v AG [2001] JLR 373, where the Court gave this guidance:-

"We have already indicated that weight though a principal factor cannot be the sole factor.  Nevertheless we agree that further guidance is needed for such cases.  We consider that the appropriate course is to give bands of starting points by reference to the weight of drugs, adjustment being made within these bands to take account of the role and involvement of the defendant, and of other less significant factors including street value."

The Court then went on to suggest that the band for weights between 50 and 100 grams was 9-11 years' imprisonment.  The Crown Advocate has taken a starting point of 10 years, having considered that the involvement of the defendant in drug trafficking was greater than that of a mere courier.  Zaman was a supplier and therefore involved to a greater extent.  We agree with the Crown Advocate that the appropriate starting point is one of 10 years' imprisonment.

3.        In mitigation the defendant has pleaded guilty to the Indictment and cooperated, to a limited extent, with investigating officers. 

4.        We have read your letter and we are glad to note that you have resolved to keep clean of drugs and that you are succeeding in doing that in the prison.  We are also glad to hear that you are undergoing courses and we hope that all that will help you to keep away from the drug culture when you have served your sentence and you come out of prison.  We are going to give slightly more weight to the mitigating factors than was given by the Crown Advocate.

5.        The sentence of the Court is that you will go to prison for 6½ years.

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

Authorities

Rimmer and Others v AG [2001] JLR 373.