Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - drugs - importation - possession - Class B and Class C.

[2016]JRC096

Royal Court

(Samedi)

13 May 2016

Before     :

T. J. Le Cocq, Esq., Deputy Bailiff, and Jurats Nicolle and Ramsden

The Attorney General

-v-

Paul Duffy

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, following guilty pleas to the following charges:

1 count of:	Being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on the importation of a controlled drug, contrary to Article 61(2)(b) of the Customs and Excise (Jersey) Law 1999 (Count 1).
2 counts of:	Possession of a controlled drug, contrary to Article 8(1) of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law 1978 (Counts 3 and 4).

Age:  33.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

On 27^th October, 2015, Customs and Immigration Officer Jonathan Gready examined a postal packet addressed to an address in St Clement, and found that it contained only a clear plastic bag containing 1,778 10 mg diazepam (valium) tablets.  The parcel was seized and a dummy package prepared. 

The following day the dummy package was delivered and Customs Officers conducted a surveillance operation.  They observed a car pull into the courtyard of the address and three people, including the defendant's mother and brother, got out.  The mother and brother collected the parcel from the address.  All three were arrested.  The defendant arrived soon afterwards and told the officers "She's got nothing to do with it, they're mine... the vallies".  The defendant was arrested and his telephone was seized.  He later added "I would also like to state that Mary, my mum, and [my brother] have got fuck all to do with this."  This comment was endorsed in the officer's notebook. 

His home address was searched and a number of items were seized, including a bag containing 389 10 mg valium tablets, a piece of cannabis resin weighing 556 mg, and £660 cash. 

The defendant's mother told officers in interview that her son had asked her to collect the parcel.  The defendant admitted that the drugs intercepted by Customs were his, and that he had arranged for them to be delivered using a false name in an attempt to evade detection.  He claimed that he used 20 to 30 diazepam tablets every day, and stated that he had been expecting to receive 1,000 tablets in the parcel.  He refused to answer questions regarding the provenance of the drugs imported and as to their cost.  He denied supplying tablets to anyone.  He stated that the diazepam and cannabis in his flat were for personal use.  He refused to provide the PIN code for his mobile telephone. 

The States of Jersey Chief Pharmacist subsequently provided a witness statement in which he confirmed that 10 mg diazepam tablets are only available om private prescription and not at public expense.  He also stated that the normal dosage of diazepam ranges from 2mg to 10mg three times a day; and up to 60mg a day may be prescribed in cases of severe muscle spasticity. 

The Crown accepted that 1,000 of the 1,778 tablets in the parcel were for personal use, but that the remaining 778 tablets may have been supplied.  The potential profit had all of these been sold was just under £1,500. 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea.  Cooperative insofar as he exonerated his family, but declined to name his supplier and refused to give the PIN for his mobile telephone. 

Previous Convictions:

22 previous convictions, including two offences of possession of a controlled drug, two of being concerned in the supplying of a controlled drug, one of supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug, and one of possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply. 

Conclusions:

Count 1:	9 months' imprisonment.
Count 3:	2 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 4:	1 week's imprisonment, concurrent.

Total: 9 months' imprisonment.

Forfeiture and destruction of the drugs sought.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Count 1:	150 hours' Community Service Order, equivalent to 9 months' imprisonment, together with a 12 month Probation Order.
Count 3:	70 hours' Community Service Order, equivalent to 2 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 4:	40 hours' Community Service Order, equivalent to 1 week's imprisonment, concurrent.

Total: 150 hours' Community Service Order together with a 12 month Probation Order.

Forfeiture and destruction of the drugs ordered.

Ms E. L. Hollywood, Crown Advocate.

Advocate M. J. Haines for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        You are to be sentenced for one count of importation of diazepam, one count of possession of that drug, and one count of possession of cannabis.  This was a postal importation and you had your mother unwittingly collect a package sent to a false name containing 1,778 10 mg diazepam tablets and a further 389 tablets were found in your flat.  The total street value of the tablets was £4,334. 

2.        It is accepted by the Crown that most of these tablets were for your own use but that there was a risk that a significant number may have found their way into the general supply.  You immediately accepted that the drugs were yours in order to make it clear that your mother was not, in fact, involved and to the extent you were cooperative but your cooperation was limited as you would not help the police with access to your phone. 

3.        We have read your letter and other letters sent in your support very carefully.  It is a sad feature of this type of offending often the consequences reach beyond the defendant and affect innocent persons and that is something that you should have thought about before you embarked on this course of offending. However, you have engaged very positively with the Alcohol and Drugs service and we accept that you genuinely wish to turn your life around. 

4.        In general we agree with the Crown's assessment of the features of this case in so far as they relate to the significance size of the importation and your lack of full cooperation but in our view there is significant mitigation as put forward by your counsel, set out in the social enquiry report, and in the letters that enable us to consider a non-custodial disposal on this occasion.  We are heartened by the fact that you seem to be making very genuine attempts to wean yourself off your dependence on any form of drugs. 

5.        Accordingly for Count 1 we are going to impose a Probation Order of 12 months duration.  We are going to order you to carry out 150 hours' of community service, which is the equivalent of 9 months' imprisonment.  You will obey the directions of the Probation Service concerning the attendance at the Alcohol and Drugs Service and you will conform to any directions given to you by the Probation Service for the duration of the probation Order.  You will also submit to random analysis tests to ensure that you remain free of the drugs. 

6.        We deal with the other two counts by imposing a community service equivalent to 2 months on Count 3 and 1 week on Count 4 to run concurrently with the Community Service Order on Count 1. 

7.        We also order the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs. 

Authorities

AG-v-Turmel, le Monnier and Rees [2016] JRC 009.

AG-v-Whitcombe [2014] JRC 173.