Australia, June 27 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on May 27:

1. By summons filed on 27 October 2015 the plaintiff claims a proceeds assessment order against the defendant, Kaldon Karout, in the following terms:

6 An order pursuant to section 27 of the Criminal Assets Recovery Act 1990 that Kaldon Karout pay to the Treasurer an amount assessed by the Court as the value of the proceeds derived from the illegal activities of Kaldon Karout or another person that took place not more than six (6) years before the making of this application.

2. In 2012 the defendant was charged with possession of a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug. He was on bail with respect to that charge during 2015 until his second arrest on 11 September 2015. In the period of six weeks from 27 July 2015 to 11 September 2015 the defendant's activities in a factory unit that he occupied at Kogarah were under surveillance. During that time he received and handled quantities of cocaine and heroin in block form at relatively high purity. He broke up the blocks and blended the drugs with other materials. He then compacted the cut, or diluted, product into new blocks using a hydraulic press with dies and plates of various sizes. The factory unit in which this enterprise was carried out was also the depot for a building business that the offender carried on at the time through his company KK Industries Pty Ltd.

3. The defendant was arrested outside the unit on 11 September 2015 and a search warrant was executed. In addition to the pressing equipment police located 1285.22 g of heroin and 1008.8 g of cocaine. Having regard to the nature of the defendant's activities while under surveillance it is evident that during the six-week charge period he must have had significant quantities of drugs in his possession in addition to the quantities seized at the time of arrest.

4. In July 2017 the defendant was sentenced for the 2012 offence. A term of 8 years and 6 months was imposed with a non-parole period of 5 years and 3 months. The commencement and expiry dates for that sentence are not clear from the evidence.

5. On 1 June 2018 the defendant was convicted of the 2015 offences: two counts of supplying not less than a large commercial quantity of prohibited drug, one count in relation to heroin and one in relation to cocaine. He was sentenced to an effective overall term of 8 years and 3 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of 5 years and 7 months. That sentence commenced on 11 March 2016 and thus was made partly concurrent with his sentence for the 2012 offence. The defendant was released to parole on 10 October 2021.

6. Arising out of the defendant's offending in 2012, a proceeds assessment order was made for the value of proceeds derived by him in a period up to 20 November 2012. In the current proceedings the plaintiff therefore asks the Court to make an assessment for the period from 21 November 2012 up to the commencement of these proceedings. The Court is to assess the value of proceeds of the defendant's illegal activity for a period two years and about 11 months, expiring on 27 October 2015.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/19710c55b037138627151163)

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