R (Commonwealth) v Wilson [2018] NSWDC 518

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R (Commonwealth) v Wilson [2018] NSWDC 518 Hearing dates: 19 October 2019 Date of orders: 19 October 2018 Decision date: 19 October 2018 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Neilson DCJ Decision: Effective head sentence 9 years. Non-parole period 6 years. Catchwords: CRIME – SENTENCE – COMMONWEALTH MATTER Admitted Crimes: (1) import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine 4.8958 kgs gross, purity assessed at 75% (2) attempt to possess a commercial quantity of methamphetamine 1.0814 kgs gross, purity level of 79% equally 855.3 grams pure drug (3) traffick a marketable quantity of cocaine/methamphetamine (4 separate transactions)

Member of a criminal syndicate involving two others already sentenced: Pantaleo and Chiagozie

41 year old man at time of arrest 26 May 2016. Personal references at odds with agreed facts and human experience. Married with adult stepson. Good work history since arrival in Australia in 2007. Legislation Cited: Criminal Code (Cth) Category: Sentence Parties: Regina (Commonwealth) (Crown) Kwesi Oben Wilson (Offender) Representation: Counsel: (Crown) D Barrow (Offender) D Carroll

Solicitors: CDPP (Crown) Bannisters Lawyers (Offender) File Number(s): 2016/00164038 Publication restriction: Nil

sentence 1. HIS HONOUR: Kwesi Oben Wilson stands for sentence as a consequence of having pleaded guilty to three charges contrary to the provisions of the Criminal Code (Cth). The first offence to which the offender pleaded guilty was one contrary to s 307.1 (1) of the Code. The offence can be shortly described as importing a commercial quantity of border controlled drug namely, methamphetamine. The maximum penalty for that offence is life imprisonment and or a fine of 7,500 penalty units ($1,350,000). The second offence to which the offender pleaded guilty is one contrary to s 307.5 (1) of the same Code. The offence can be shortly described as attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug namely, methamphetamine. The maximum penalty for that offence is, again, life imprisonment and or a fine of 7,500 penalty units ($1,350,000). The final offence to which the offender pleaded guilty is one contrary to s 302.3 (1) of the Code. That offence can be shortly described as trafficking a marketable quantity of controlled drug, namely methamphetamine and cocaine. The maximum penalty for that offence is imprisonment for twenty-five years and or a fine of 5,000 penalty units ($900,000). These are all extremely serious offences. 2. The offender was arrested on 26 May 2016 for these offences and has been in custody ever since, a period of almost two years and five months. 3. The Crown and the offender have agreed on a statement of facts. Unfortunately, the statement of facts amounts to forty-three pages comprising 147 paragraphs and, for example, par 73 contains nearly two pages recording a telephone conversation. Paragraph 75 contains two-and-a-quarter pages again of a recorded conversation. Paragraph 77 contains almost a page of recorded telephone conversation. The agreed facts are unwieldy and impede the ability of this Court to deliver an expeditious judgement. There is a "executive summary" contained the first five pages of the agreed statement of facts but that executive summary is, in itself, insufficient for me to pass sentence upon this offender.