A Sydenham man who was convicted of attempting to import a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine has his bid to appeal his sentence rejected.
Udochukwa Prince Nwachukwu was sentenced to 13 years’ jail for his role in importing 480.1 grams of pure methylamphetamine in a hollowed out Buddha statue.
The Supreme Court heard that on October 21, 2015, border force officers intercepted a package containing the gold-covered Buddha statue from China addressed to “Barry Davies” in Inala Queensland.
Further examination of the statue showed it was made of cement, and had been hollowed out and the methylamphetamine hidden inside.
Police replaced the golden Buddha statue with a golden waving cat statue of similar dimensions in preparation for a controlled delivery.
On October 29, a man identifying himself as Barry Davies phoned the delivery company and requested for the package to be redirected to a property in Meade Way, Sydenham. The court heard that Nwachukwu lived in a different property on the same street.
The package was due to be delivered on November 2.
Police commenced surveillance at the property on the morning of the delivery. An officer posing as a delivery man attempted to deliver the package at 12.27pm.
The property had a “for lease” sign displayed in the front yard. A handwritten note addressed to the delivery company was affixed to the front security door of the house.
An associate of Nwachukwu approached the property, removed the note and then told the delivery man that the package was for him. He signed for the package and was observed by police taking it to a vacant block nearby, where he met Nwachukwu.
Soon after, police announced themselves at the scene, arresting the associate on site and, after a brief chase, arresting Nwachukwu as well.
In the trial, Nwachukwu denied any wrongdoing and said he had no knowledge of the package.
Nwachukwu’s application to appeal his sentence rested on an answer given by the trial judge to a question asked by the jury during its deliberations, about whether there was continuous surveillance at the Meade Way property on the day of the arrest.
The police surveillance log had no mention of anything happening on the street between 9.47am and 12.23pm (when the delivery man arrived). Nwachukwu maintained he left the house between those times, before meeting his associate later.
Nwachukwu submitted that the jury should have been told that there was no evidence surveillance at Meade Way had been continuous.
Supreme Court Justices Pamela Tate, David Beach and Emilios Kyrou stated that the judge had answered the jury question correctly by pointing to the police surveillance log and that there were no grounds to warrant an appeal.
