Australia, July 25 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on June 25:

1. DAVIES J: On the second scheduled day of his trial, prior to empanelment of the jury, the applicant pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the importation of a commercial quantity of a border controlled precursor contrary to ss 307.11(1) and 11.2(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for this offence is imprisonment for 25 years and/or 5000 penalty units.

2. On 6 December 2024 Judge Newlinds SC, sentenced the applicant to imprisonment for 3 years 7 months commencing 18 September 2024 and expiring 17 April 2028 with a non-parole period of 2 years expiring 17 September 2026: R v Antony [2024] NSWDC 580.

3. A co-offender, Gnanatheepan Gopalakrishnan ("GG"), was sentenced by Judge Hunt on 18 July 2024, in respect of a related offence of attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled precursor, to imprisonment for 8 years 4 months with a non-parole period of 5 years.

4. The applicant now seeks leave to appeal against his sentence on the following grounds:

That the learned Judge:

1. erred in holding that the questions of parity between the sentence of the co-accused Gopalkrishnan and that of the applicant did not have any part to play and in failing to apply the principles of parity such that the sentence was erroneously disparate passed on the co-offender;

2. the sentence was based on an erroneous assessment of the objective seriousness of the applicant's offending and was thereby affected with error;

3. the sentence was erroneously disproportionate to the applicant's role, culpability and circumstances; and

4. imposed a sentence that was, in all the circumstances, manifestly excessive.

The offending

5. The applicant was sentenced on the basis of a statement of agreed facts which may be summarised as follows.

6. The applicant and GG were involved in the attempted importation of a commercial quantity of pseudoephedrine from India into Australia in March 2021 ("the Cats Eyes Consignment"). The applicant aided and abetted the commission by GG of the offence by:

(a) assisting GG to obtain money for payment for the Cats Eyes Consignment; and

(b) attending GG's house shortly after GG had collected the substituted Cats Eyes Consignment, to assist GG to attempt to access the substituted pseudoephedrine concealed within the Cats Eyes Consignment.

7. The applicant knew the offence of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled precursor was the offence that he was aiding and abetting.

8. On 20 March 2021, the Cat's Eyes Consignment arrived in Australia. On 31 March 2021, Australian Border Force investigators deconstructed ten steel pallets that formed part of the consignment, and found and removed approximately 41.25 kilograms of concealed pseudoephedrine from the consignment.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/1971ef1cc9e4cdb07fd8357c)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.