DPP v Hosseini

Sentence: Total effective sentence of 3 years' imprisonment; minimum non-parole period of 1 year and 6 months

1. Ibrahim Hosseini[1] you have pleaded guilty to:

(a) two charges of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm;

(b) one charge of trafficking a drug of dependence, ketamine;

(c) one charge of possess a drug of dependence, cannabis;

(d) one charge of being a prohibited person in possession of a silencer;

(e) possess cartridge ammunition without a licence or permit (charge 6);

(f) possess a controlled weapon without lawful excuse (charge 12);

(g) deal with property, $21,384.10 suspected of being proceeds of crime (charge 13);

(h) drive a motorcar during a period of disqualification (charge 15); and

(i) exceed speed limit (charge 16).

1. On 17 July 2024, around 5 PM, police intercepted a white sedan in Neylon Street, Cobden because it was travelling at 72 km/hr in a 60 speed zone (Summary charge 16 - exceed speed limit).
2. You were driving.
3. You were then a disqualified driver (summary charge 15 - drive whilst disqualified) and there was a warrant for your apprehension following your failure to answer bail on an unrelated matter.
4. Police arrested you and took you into custody. They also impounded the car you were driving.
5. When they searched the car, in the glove box, they found:

(i) a .45 calibre automatic colt pistol (charge 2 - prohibited person possess firearm); and

(ii) ammunition (summary charge 6 - possess ammunition without a license or permit).

1. In the centre console, they found a .32 calibre Smith and Wesson handgun (charge 3 - prohibited person possess firearm).
2. On the passenger seat, they found:

(i) A zip lock bag containing 97.2 g of ketamine (78% purity) (charge 4 - traffic a drug of dependence);

(ii) five zip lock bags containing cannabis (charge 6 - possess cannabis);

(iii) $21,384.10 in cash (summary charge 13 - deal with property suspected proceeds of crime);

(iv) two loaded magazines of ammunition (summary charge 6 - possess ammunition without a licence or permit);

(i) a silencer (charge 8 - prohibited person possess silencer);

(ii) a machete (summary charge 12 - possess controlled weapon without excuse); and

(iii) a cash counter.

1. At interview, you exercised your right to remain silent.

1. The applicable maximum penalties[3] demonstrate the inherent seriousness of the firearms and drug trafficking offending. They serve as a yardstick and a basis for comparison between your case and the worst case.[4]
2. By your guilty plea you admit you were in possession of ketamine for sale on the day you were apprehended. The quantity of ketamine was significant, around 100 g of mixture which is approximately 0.2 times the statutory commercial quantity.
3. You also had a large sum of cash and a cash counter, both drug-trafficking accessories.
4. As your counsel, Mr De Kretzer, conceded, a prison term is warranted for the trafficking offence.
5. Both handguns were loaded and operable. There was also ammunition in the car.
6. While there was no actual or threatened use of the firearms, because they were possessed in the context of drug trafficking (to provide security or as a means of enforcement) the firearms crimes fall towards the higher end of the spectrum. [5]
7. Your offending is aggravated because you were subject to bail in respect of other charges when you committed those crimes.
8. Possession of guns, drugs and cash is a dangerous criminal combination.
9. Nevertheless, the seriousness of the trafficking charge is not to be elevated because you were carrying firearms.[6]
10. While the circumstances and seriousness of offending of the type varies significantly, a number of Court of Appeal decisions[7] provide guidance as to the relevant sentencing principles and give a broad understanding of the sentencing range.[8]

1. You have admitted a criminal record[9].
2. Relevantly,

(a) you have six summary convictions for possessing weapons, recorded between November 2018 and January 2023; and

(b) you have previously served a term of imprisonment for drug-trafficking.[10]

1. Because of your prison sentence, under the Firearms Act, you were prohibited from possessing any firearm.

1. You were 26 years old when you offended. You are now 27.
2. You were born in Baghdad, Iraq.
3. US forces invaded Iraq in 2003. Your father had earlier secured a protection Visa and gone to Australia. Your memories are of rubble, and "rockets flying over the house at night".[11]
4. In 2006, your family reunited with your father in Australia.
5. Your father had spent time in the military and prison in Iraq. He was violent and abusive.
6. In 2017, he was jailed for violent crimes against your mother.[12]
7. After he served his prison sentence, he returned to Iraq.
8. You went to local schools in the northern suburbs. During year 11 your father sent you back to Iraq. There, you did not attend school and worked for less than two months. You said you "raised pigeons".[13]
9. After two years in Iraq your father forced you to return to Australia. Here, you did not return to school and were unable to get work. You avoided being at home and spent time with similarly disconnected friends.
10. You started committing crime after your father was jailed, in the context of heavy cannabis and methamphetamine abuse.
11. In 2021, you served 115 days in prison. After your release you had scaffolding work for a short time.
12. Your mother, two sisters and a brother-in-law supported you in court.
13. In prison, you have completed the available programs and have earned trusted work as a billet. You have practised your faith which has helped give your days meaning and structure . You have regular phone contact with family members. [14]
14. In August 2024, you retained a drug counsellor privately for therapy. You had 10 teleconference sessions from MRC. You engaged and responded well to treatment.[15]

1. Luke Armstrong, psychologist, assessed you[16] on 4 June 2025.
2. While Mr Armstrong did not diagnose you formally with PTSD, to him, you expressed significant detachment and associated features when recounting the trauma of war in Iraq and family violence in Australia. He believes you have self-medicated with illicit drugs. In his opinion, "the serial nature of [your] offending in a relatively short time reflects the severity of [your] drug abuse problem." [17]
3. You have borderline intellectual functioning.
4. Mr Armstrong assessed your intelligence as extremely low, with a full-scale intelligence quotient of 68.[18]
5. He assessed your reading and spelling at grade 6 level; your maths, at grade 3 level.
6. In his opinion, you are limited in your abstract thinking and cognitive flexibility and you have problems in emotional regulation. As well, your social judgement is immature, and you are significantly gullible.[19]
7. In his view, because of your limited intellect, you previously did not appreciate the seriousness of firearms possession. However, in prison, with time to reflect, you now understand how serious it is.[20]
8. Your sister, who is a nurse, told Mr Armstrong you were your father's "punching bag". According to her, you are not violent yourself. She said you rely heavily on her husband and her. Your family are prepared to return to Melbourne to support you on your release from prison.
9. He believes, considering you have used your time in prison productively, you will respond well to intensive community ordered treatment.
10. In his opinion, because of your intellectual disability, you are at risk of manipulation and physical harm by more sophisticated prisoners. He also believes the longer you remain in prison, the more likely your PTSD symptoms will deteriorate into a mental disorder.[21]

1. On 8 April 2025, you applied for a sentence indication.
2. Your counsel, Mr De Kretzer, contended, because your offending, while serious, falls below the high-end, a combination sentence was within range.[22]
3. The prosecutor, Mr Kelly, submitted, because of the inherent seriousness of your possession of two loaded firearms, for the purpose of criminal activity, a sentence comprising a head sentence and non-parole period is required.
4. On 11 April 2025, I gave a sentence indication I would likely impose a total effective sentence of not more than three years and six months and fix a minimum term of not more than two years in the event you pleaded guilty to the charges before the court.
5. In reaching that conclusion I took into account:

(a) the objective seriousness of your offending;

(b) the high utilitarian value of a guilty plea which, if entered, would deny you the opportunity to argue a triable issue, and its demonstration of remorse;

(c) your productive use of your time in prison since your arrest and remand; and

(d) your prospects of rehabilitation, which I then assessed to be reasonably good.

1. You accepted the indication and were arraigned on 28 April 2025.
2. A sentencing hearing was held on 6 June 2025.
3. Ms Garde Wilson, who appeared on your behalf, submitted,[23] relying on Mr Armstrong's opinions you have symptoms of PTSD and borderline intellectual functioning, Bugmy and Verdins principles are engaged to moderate your sentence because:

(a) your moral culpability and the need for general and specific deterrence are reduced;

(b) prison will be harder for you than an ordinary prisoner; and

(c) there is a risk, in prison, your PTSD symptoms will degenerate into a mental disorder.

1. She submitted, considering your psychological profile, a combination sentence could achieve sentencing purposes.
2. She helpfully referred me to two sentences of this court.[24] In one,[25] the court imposed a total effective sentence of two years and eight months imprisonment with a non-parole period of one year and six months for firearms offending which, in her submission, was more serious than yours. In the other,[26] the court imposed a sentence of 18 months imprisonment combined with a 30 month community correction order for firearms and drug offending, which, in her submission, as broadly comparable with yours.
3. Mr Armstrong's opinions notwithstanding, the prosecutor maintained his submission a sentence of imprisonment with a non-parole period fixed is the appropriate sentence.

1. Police had arrested you for driving offences. They searched your car, without warrant. I am satisfied the legality of the search of the vehicle you were driving was a triable issue. By pleading guilty, you gave up the chance to test the admissibility of the critical prosecution evidence. Accordingly, your guilty plea carries additional utilitarian value. I also accept it is an indication of your remorse.
2. You are a relatively young offender.
3. You have no history of firearms or violent offending. I accept you are not a violent person.
4. You have used your time in custody constructively. I accept your faith has helped you.
5. Your family strongly supports you. When you are released from prison they will return to Melbourne to look after you.
6. In my view, with their help, your prospects of rehabilitation are very good. You must understand, if you relapse into substance abuse, you risk reoffending.
7. I accept Mr Armstrong's opinions which were unchallenged.
8. It follows, I accept your exposure to the trauma of war and family violence has damaged you psychologically.
9. I also accept your intellectual functioning is borderline. And, because of your limited intelligence, you are immature and gullible.
10. While I am mindful your firearms offending is inherently serious, I am satisfied that psychological factors reduce your moral culpability and the need for general and specific deterrence, to a modest degree.
11. I am also satisfied, because of your psychological profile, you are a vulnerable target for harm by other prisoners and, the longer you are in prison, the more likely your mental health will deteriorate.

1. In all the circumstances of the case, I am satisfied only a sentence of imprisonment, with a non-parole period fixed, can achieve all sentencing purposes.
2. Because of the findings I have made, based on Mr Armstrong's opinions, I will moderate the total effective sentence and minimum term I would otherwise have imposed.
3. Because you are to be sentenced for a number of offences I must ensure your total effective sentence is "a just and appropriate measure of the total criminality involved".[27]
4. I am also mindful your sentence must be no more severe than is necessary to achieve the set sentencing purposes.[28]
5. By the sentence I impose I must denounce your conduct, punish you and deter you and others from committing crimes of the same or similar kind. I must also look to your rehabilitation.
6. Considering the circumstances of your offending, your personal circumstances and antecedents, and endeavouring to produce a sentence which reflects and promotes the purposes of sentencing in a manner appropriate to you:

(a) on charge 1 - being a prohibited person in possession of a .45 automatic Colt pistol, you are sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. This is your base sentence.

(b) on charge 2 - being a prohibited person in possession of a .32 Smith and Wesson revolver, you are sentenced to 2 years imprisonment.

(c) on charge 3 - traffic a drug of dependence, namely ketamine, you are sentenced to 6 months imprisonment.

(d) charge 4 - possess a drug of dependence, namely cannabis L, which was for personal use, you are convicted and discharged.

(e) on charge 5 - being a prohibited person in possession of a silencer you are sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.

(f) on summary charge 12 - possess a controlled weapon, a machete, without lawful excuse you are sentenced to one months imprisonment.

(g) on summary charge 13 - deal with property, namely $21,384.10, in cash, suspected of being the proceeds of crime you are sentenced to 3 months imprisonment.

(a) 6 months of the sentence I have imposed on charge 2;

(b) 2 months of the sentence I have imposed on charge 3;

(c) 3 months of the sentence I have imposed on charge 5; and

(d) one month of the sentence I have imposed on summary charge 13,

be served cumulatively on the sentence I have imposed on charge 2 and each other.

1. Your total effective sentence is three years imprisonment.
2. To mitigate punishment and promote your rehabilitation, I fix a minimum non-parole period of one year and six months.
3. I declare you have served 330 days of your sentence by way of presentence detention.
4. While there is some artificiality in the process, I declare, but for your guilty plea, I would have imposed a total effective sentence of four years and three months imprisonment and imposed a minimum non-parole period of two years and nine months.
5. On the remaining charges:

(a) summary charge 6 - possess cartridge ammunition without a license or permit;

(b) summary charge 15 - drive while disqualified; and

(c) on summary charge 16 - exceed the speed limit,

you are convicted and fined and aggregate sum of $750.

1. I make an order for disposal of the drugs of dependence seized and forfeiture of the cash and firearms seized.

[2] The alleged circumstances are set out in a prosecution opening dated 28 March 2025 (Exhibit A). You accepted them as agreed facts for the purpose of the sentence indication application.

[3] 10 years for prohibited person possess firearm; 15 years for trafficking a drug of dependence.

[4] Markarian v The Queen (2005) 228 CLR 357.

[5] Berichon v R [2013] VSCA 319; [2013] 40 VR 490; Mario Acciarito v R [2019] VSCA 264, [55].

[6] Mario Acciarito v R [2019] VSCA 264, [56].

[7] DPP v Dennis Basic [2017] VSCA 376; Berichon v R [2013] VSCA 319; (2013) 40 VR 490, Mario Acciarito v R [2019] VSCA 264 Fawaz Sultan v R [2022] VSCA 205.

[8] R v Kilic [2016] HCA 48; (2016) 259 CLR 256, [21] - [22].

[9] Criminal record (Exhibit B at Application for Sentence Indication Hearing).

[10] On 30 August 2021, you were sentenced to 115 days imprisonment and an 18-month CCO for trafficking cannabis.

[11] Your personal circumstances are set out in the report of Luke Armstrong (Psychologist) dated 5 June 2025 (Exhibit 5).

[12] See Victoria police LEAP extract (Exhibit 3).

[14] Report of Karly Doyle (Forensic alcohol and drug specialist) dated 28 March 2025 (Exhibit 2).

[16] In a four-hour face-to-face examination. His report is Exhibit 5.

[17] Report of Luke Armstrong dated 5 June 2025, page 5.

[18] DSM - V criterion A mild intellectual disability 70+\-5.

[19] Report of Luke Armstrong dated 5 June 2025, page 7.

[22] In written (Exhibit 1) and oral submissions.

[23] In written (Exhibit 4) and oral submissions.

[24] DPP v Dylan Cragg [2021] VCC 1996 (Judge Chambers) and DPP v Corey Moore and Kane Dalrymple [2019] VCC 1023 (Judge Gwynn).

[25] DPP v Dylan Cragg [2021] VCC 1996.

[26] DPP v Corey Moore and Kane Dalrymple [2019] VCC 1023.

[27] Postiglione v the Queen [1997] HCA 26; (1997) 145 ALR 408, 416 - 17, 442 - 3.

[28] Sentencing Act, s 5 (3).