DPP v Akhtarzada [2026] VCC 178

a) 250 grams in pure form; or > > b) 500 grams in a mixture.

11. The amount located in your hotel room was 1.2 times the commercial quantity threshold on a pure basis and 1.08 times the commercial quantity threshold on a mixed basis and that white powder is the basis of Charge 1, trafficking a commercial quantity of a drug of dependence being cocaine under s71AA(1) Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981.
12. After you pleaded guilty on 4 December 2025 the matter was listed for formal plea and sentence before me today, 20 February 2026.
13. In determining an appropriate sentence, which in your case means the length of the term of imprisonment that I will impose, the law requires me to have regard to a variety of factors which I will outline in these sentencing remarks.[2] Some point towards a harsher sentence and some point towards a more lenient sentence with no one factor automatically prevailing over any other.

1. Your personal circumstances were outlined in defence submissions, and the Psychological Assessment Report of Dr Aaron Cunningham dated 10 November 2025. I have also had regard to the information in the character reference provided by your sister, Wajeha Akhtarzada.
2. You were 19 years old at the time of the offending and are now aged 20. You were born in Afghanistan and moved to Australia with your parents when you were three. Your father had to stop working when you were seven for health reasons and your mother receives the disability pension. You have a good relationship with your six siblings but feel a lack of emotional connection with your parents. You resided at the family home in Narre Warren up until your arrest.
3. You completed Year 12 VCAL despite struggling academically and then went on to complete one year of a plumbing apprenticeship. You left that due to low pay and have been unemployed ever since. You intend to return to the family home and resume your plumbing apprenticeship when you are released from prison.
4. You told Dr Cunningham that you used cocaine and 'party drugs' after leaving school. You said that you used cocaine every few months in social situations but reported no dependence or abuse.
5. Dr Cunningham, who assessed you in prison, found that you did not present with mental illness or drug and alcohol treatment needs, but noted that testing was consistent with an intellectual disability and indicative of significant mental impairment.
6. Your sister describes you as a gentle, caring and loving young man.

Objective gravity of your offending and moral culpability

1. Critical to any sentence are the objective gravity of the offending and the moral culpability of the offender. In simple terms how serious was your conduct and how much are you to blame.
2. If there was any doubt about the seriousness of the offence of trafficking a commercial quantity of cocaine the maximum penalty of 25 years makes it clear, as does the fact it is a category 2 offence under the Sentencing Act 1991, meaning that a term of imprisonment, not in combination with a community correction order must be imposed unless a relevant exception exists, and there is none here.
3. Your two summary offences are obviously less serious, having maximum penalties of two years' imprisonment each, but they are still serious enough.
4. Your trafficking offence is made more serious by the fact it was obviously planned and premeditated. It was also brazen and, I am satisfied, motivated by greed.
5. On the other hand the quantity of drugs you were dealing at 1.08 times the threshold for mixed substance and 1.2 times the threshold for pure was relatively low for a commercial quantity. Although the quantity of drugs is not the most important factor in determining seriousness it is nevertheless significant. Further, as much as your offending was brazen it was also unsophisticated in that you booked the room in your own name and left the drugs and cash out in full view.

1. Whilst undoubtedly very serious, in terms of the spectrum of seriousness for the offence of trafficking a commercial quantity of drugs, your offending was towards the lower end. This was conceded by the prosecution.
2. I also take into account the fact you were only 19 at the time of the offending. The law recognises that young people are more prone to make ill-considered or rash decisions and may have less insight and self-control than an older person. Although your offending could hardly be considered impulsive or involving a lack of self-control, and further there can be no doubt you knew that what you were doing was wrong, I accept that your youth and intellectual functioning may have meant that you did not fully appreciate the seriousness of what you were doing. This does reduce your moral culpability to a slight degree.

1. The impact of a person's offending is also something I need to take into account. This is not the sort of matter where the court receives victim impact statements however, the devastating effect of illicit drugs on our community is well known and does not need elaboration.

1. To promote consistency of approach in sentencing I am required to have regard to current sentencing practices which may be gleaned from statistics or sentences imposed in other cases or both.
2. I have considered the one case to which I was referred by the prosecution[4] and the most recent Sentencing Advisory Council Statistics of the higher courts. The statistics indicate that almost 95 per cent of charges of trafficking a commercial quantity of a drug of dependence result in a term of imprisonment which ranges from less than one year to 10 years, with the most common term being four to five years. The next most common term is three to four years.
3. Of course ultimately my duty is to impose a just and appropriate sentence on you in the unique circumstances of this case.

1. You are entitled to a discount in your sentence for the fact you pleaded guilty and did so at a relatively early stage. In so doing you facilitated the course of justice and took legal responsibility for your crimes.
2. Your sister says in her reference that you have shown remorse, shame and accountability. She says that you have repeatedly expressed your disappointment in yourself, and your distress about letting down your family. She says you have told her 'I made a terrible mistake'.
3. I do accept that you are sorry for the hardship your incarceration has caused your family and that you regret your offending, but I am not convinced you truly understand or acknowledge the societal harm caused by offending such as yours.

1. You have no prior convictions and this means you are entitled to be sentenced as a person of otherwise good character.
2. Your sister, in her reference, speaks of your kind and gentle nature, as I have mentioned, and also your desire to help those less fortunate. She also, as I have also mentioned, speaks of your regret for the offending.
3. Your counsel submitted I should find your prospects of rehabilitation to be good and I am prepared to find that they are reasonable.

1. I am obliged not to impose a more severe sentence than is necessary to achieve the sentencing purposes of just punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation, denunciation, and protection of the community. A custodial sentence must only be imposed as a last resort and then must be the absolute minimum required.
2. Further, when there are multiple charges, such as here, the total effective sentence must not offend the principle of totality, meaning you must not be punished any more than is proportionate and appropriate to your overall criminality.
3. General deterrence is a primary sentencing consideration for drug trafficking. People like you who are tempted by the potential to make a lot of money need to be deterred by the knowledge that if caught they will receive a substantial term of imprisonment. There is also a need to denounce your conduct and to deter you from doing the same thing again.
4. On the other hand, the law recognises the paramount importance of promoting the rehabilitation of young offenders, such as you. Not only is this because young people have the greatest potential to rehabilitate, but also because it is by their rehabilitation that society will be best protected. Further, it is generally acknowledged that a period of incarceration in an adult prison, will most likely have a detrimental effect on a young person's prospects of rehabilitation. I take those factors into account whilst also recognising that the importance of rehabilitation in the sentencing equation declines as the seriousness of the offence increases and your offending was serious.

1. Weighing up the competing considerations as best I can I convict you on all three charges and sentence you as follows:
2. On Charge 1 - trafficking in a commercial quantity of a drug of dependence, three years and four months.
3. On summary Charge 4 - dealing with property suspected of being the proceeds of crime, one month imprisonment which I will make wholly concurrent with the three years and four months.
4. On summary Charge 5 - the knuckleduster charge, a fine of $1,000.
5. Whilst you are in prison you can apply to convert that fine to a term of imprisonment, which would likely mean that when you are released, you will not have to pay any money. I say 'likely' because if it is converted, you will get some time which may or may not be concurrent with the time you are serving.
6. In respect of that total sentence I set a non-parole period of two years. That is 60 per cent of the head sentence, which is relatively low. The reason I am setting it so low is to allow for your release and to promote your potential rehabilitation. I do not determine when you are released, that is up to the Adult Parole Board.

1. I declare that you have served 252 days pre-sentence detention, not including today, in respect of the sentence that I have imposed and order that declaration be entered in the records of the court and the period be deducted you're your sentence.

Section 6AAA

1. If you had not pleaded guilty to these charges and been found guilty by a jury, I should say Charge 1 because the others are summary charges, I would have sentenced you on that charge to a total effective sentence of five years with a

1. The prosecution has applied for a disposal order and that is in relation to the cocaine, the Ziplock bags, and there is also an ecstasy tablet which I have not mentioned, but that was also found in your room, and I will make that order.
2. Now I think that covers everything.
3. MR ALLEN: There is a forfeiture order as well, Your Honour.
4. HER HONOUR: Is there. Yes, wait a minute. The forfeiture order is in relation to the total amount of money and the knuckle dusters.
5. MR ALLEN: Yes, Your Honour.
6. HER HONOUR: Yes, I make that forfeiture order as well.
7. MR RANJIT: Your Honour please.
8. HER HONOUR: That concludes the matter. Thank you to counsel for your assistance.
9. MR ALLEN: Thank you, Your Honour.
10. MR RANJIT: It please the court.

[1] Summary based on the agreed facts set out in the Summary of Prosecution Opening and marked as Exhibit A.

[2] Section 16A of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)

[3] I am required to take into account is the impact of your offending on your victims and their personal circumstances - Section 5(2)(daa), (da) and (db).

[4] DPP v Nguyen [2021] VCC 262