The Attorney General v John Michael Childs

• Jurisdiction: Jersey
• Court: Royal Court
• Judge: Bailiff
• Judgment Date: 12 May 2016
• Neutral Citation: [2016] JRC 94A
• Date: 12 May 2016

[2016] JRC 094A

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi)

Before:

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

The Attorney General

and

John Michael Childs

M. R. Maletroit, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate L. J. Glynn for the Defendant.

Authorities

Rimmer Lusk and Bade v AG [2001] JLR 373 .

Shahnowaz v AG [2007] JLR 221 .

Superior Number Sentencing — Drugs — importation — Class A and B.

Sentencing by the Superior Number of the Royal Court, to which the accused was remanded by the Inferior Number on 8 ^th April, 2016, following guilty pleas to the following charges:

2 counts 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 (Counts 2 and 3).

Age : 27.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

The defendant arrived in Jersey on a flight from Liverpool. A search of his holdall revealed a morphine tablet (originally the subject of Count 1, which lays on file). On swabs carried out on his possessions gave positive readings for cocaine, heroin and THC. The defendant was arrested and taken to the hospital where a subsequent X-ray showed a suspicious object in his abdomen. It was subsequently established that the defendant had concealed a package between his buttocks containing 25.15g of herbal cannabis (Count 2), and internally concealed a package containing 20.11g of cocaine with a purity of 32% by weight (Count 3). The drugs had an approximate street value of £500 and £2,000 respectively.

Details of Mitigation:

Early guilty pleas (almost inevitable). Drugs imported for personal use. Cooperation. Letter of remorse.

Previous Convictions:

26 previous convictions comprising 35 offences. 13 theft and kindred offences, together with two previous offences of possession of cannabis in 2011 and 2015.

Conclusions:

Count 2: 3 months' imprisonment.

Count 3: Starting point 8 ¹/₂ years' imprisonment. 4 ¹/₂ years' imprisonment, concurrent.

Total: 4 ¹/₂ years' imprisonment.

Forfeiture and destruction of the drugs sought.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Conclusions granted.

Bailiff

THE DEPUTY

1 You are here to be sentenced on two counts of importation of controlled drugs, namely 25.15 grams of herbal cannabis and 20.11 grams of cocaine, the street values respectively are £500 and £2,000. You are a user of these drugs and you...