R v Woods [2019] NSWDC 401

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Woods [2019] NSWDC 401 Hearing dates: 14 June 2019 Date of orders: 17 June 2019 Decision date: 17 June 2019 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Buscombe DCJ Decision: See paragraphs [54] to [57] Catchwords: CRIME — Drug offences — Commonwealth offences — Import border-controlled prohibited drug — "dark net" — 3,4‑methylenedioxymethamphetamine — cocaine CRIME — Drug offences — Supply prohibited drug SENTENCING — Mitigating factors — Good character SENTENCING — Mitigating factors — No record of previous convictions SENTENCING — Commonwealth offences —Mitigating factors — Plea of guilty SENTENCING — Subjective considerations on sentence — Age of offender SENTENCING — Subjective considerations on sentence — Special circumstances Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act Criminal Code Act Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act Cases Cited: Muldrock v The Queen (2011) 244 CLR 120 Xiao v The Queen [2018] NSWCCA 4 Category: Sentence Parties: Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown) Christopher Woods (Offender) Representation: Counsel: P Lowe (Crown) P Lange (Offender)

Solicitors: A Soukie (Hanna Legal) (Offender) File Number(s): 2017/00229228

SENTENCE 1. HIS HONOUR: The offender pleaded guilty in the Local Court and adhered to those pleas to the following offences; that between 24 November 2014 and 29 March 2017 at Clyde he imported a marketable quantity of a border‑controlled drug, being 3,4‑methylenedioxymethamphetamine and cocaine; that is charge sequence 1. There is a second offence that between 26 July and 2 August 2017 at Clyde he imported a marketable quantity of a border‑controlled drug being 3,4‑methylenedioxyamphetamine; that is charge sequence 20. Both those offences are Commonwealth offences being offences under s 307.2(1) of the Criminal Code Act and have a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment and/or a fine equivalent to 5,000 penalty units. 2. There are three State offences for which the offender also stands for sentence. The first State offence is that between 17 May 2017 and 6 June 2017 at Bligh Park, he did, on three or more occasions during a period of 30 consecutive days, supply a prohibited drug other than cannabis being 3,4‑methylenedioxymethamphetamine for financial or material reward. An offence of ongoing supply is an offence under s 25A of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act and has a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and/or a fine equivalent to 3,500 penalty units. That offence is contained in charge sequence 12. When sentencing the offender on charge sequence 12, he asks that I take into account a further ongoing supply offence which is on a form 1 for which he acknowledges his guilt. That offence is contained on charge sequence 11 and is an ongoing supply offence which occurred between 12 April and 11 May 2017 and also concerned the same drug that is the subject of charge sequence 12. 3. The second State offence is an offence that on 27 July 2017 at Wilberforce, the offender supplied a prohibited drug being cocaine; that offence is charge sequence 22. The third State offence is that on 27 July 2017 at Wilberforce, the offender supplied a prohibited drug being an amount of psilocin which was not less than the indictable quantity. That offence is contained in charge sequence 26. Those two offences are offences under s 25(1) of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act and have a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment and/or a fine equivalent to 2,000 penalty units.