R v Belinda Mary CAMPBELL [2007] NSWDC 232

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v Belinda Mary CAMPBELL [2007] NSWDC 232

HEARING DATE(S): 23 July 07 - 24 August 07 19 October 07

JUDGMENT DATE: 16 November 2007

JURISDICTION: Criminal

JUDGMENT OF: Berman SC DCJ

DECISION: See paragraph [47]

CATCHWORDS: Criminal Law - Sentence - Importation of a commercial quantity of a border controlled precursor - Pseudoephedrine

PARTIES: The Crown Belinda Mary Campbell

FILE NUMBER(S): 07/11/0371

COUNSEL: D Jordan - Crown R Bromwich - Offender

SOLICITORS: Commonwealth DPP Giddy & Crittenden

SENTENCE

Introduction

1 Belinda Campbell appears for sentence today after having been found guilty by a jury of committing an offence of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled precursor believing that another person would use the precursor to manufacture a controlled drug.

2 What Mrs Campbell imported were approximately 2,000,000 commercial cold tablets weighing a total of 452 kg. Each tablet contained the precursor pseudoephedrine, a drug which is particularly desirable because of its potential use in the manufacture of the illicit drug methylamphetamine hydrochloride. The amount of pseudoephedrine in the tablets was 92.9 kg. The potential yield of methylamphetamine hydrochloride was more than 50kg with a value of between $10 million and $56 million. Mrs Campbell imported more than 70 times the commercial quantity of 1.2kg.

3 Those figures alone demonstrate the objective seriousness of the offence for which Mrs Campbell is to be sentenced.

4 The maximum penalty for the offence for which Mrs Campbell is to be sentenced is 25 years imprisonment.

Facts

5 For some years leading up to the commission of the offence Mrs Campbell ran a furniture retail business. She obtained her stock from Indonesia, utilising the services of a man by the name of Sam Rantasalu. It was necessary for her to periodically import shipping container loads of furniture and household goods for resale. Mr Rantasalu took care of the Indonesian side of things, in particular it was he who arranged the packing of the containers delivered to Mrs Campbell.