DPP v Singh [2025] VCC 441

a) Charge 1: trafficking a commercial quantity of a drug of dependence, namely cocaine, contrary to s71AA of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981; > > b) Charge 2**:** trafficking a commercial quantity of a drug of dependence, namely heroin, contrary to s71AA of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981; > > c) Charge 3: trafficking a drug of dependence, namely morphine, contrary to s71AC of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981; and > > d) Charge 4: knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime contrary to s194(2) of the Crimes Act 1958.

4. The offence of recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.
5. The summary offence of possessing a prohibited weapon carries a maximum penalty of 240 penalty units or two years' imprisonment.
6. The offence of trafficking a commercial quantity of a drug of dependence carries a maximum penalty of 25 years' imprisonment.
7. The offence of trafficking a drug of dependence carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.
8. The offence of knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.
9. You have admitted your criminal history.
10. The details of your offending on Indictment Q11321917.1 are fully detailed in the Summary of Prosecution Opening on this indictment[1].
11. At the time of offending, you resided in Wollert with your wife and two children.
12. There are several complainants in this matter. Each complainant had conducted research into investment bonds.
13. In March 2021, they provided their personal details, including their names, addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers, to various websites they believed to be legitimate, and all were contacted by persons purporting to be representatives of legitimate investment businesses (Nomura Holdings and Vanguard).
14. On each occasion, they were contacted and told to put money in an investment by transferring their funds into accounts either belonging to L&J Group Investment Pty Ltd or Auswide Express Pty Ltd.
15. These accounts had no connection to Vanguard or Nomura Holdings. Both accounts were in fact controlled by you. The registered addresses for both L&J Group Investment Pty Ltd and Auswide Express Pty Ltd matched your residential address, and your wife was a director for both businesses. A total of $550,000 was transferred by the complainants into those accounts. (This is the subject of Charge 1).
16. When police executed a search warrant at your home on 2 August 2022, your wife claimed that you had already left for work at Australia Post. However, the police located you hiding under the bed.
17. During a search of the premises, the police uncovered several items, linking you to the frauds.
18. These items included:

Documentation relating to the transfers of funds from one of the complainants to the L&J Group Investment account.

A loan agreement and promissory note for one of the complainants.

1. The police also located an extendable baton in your Volvo. This is the subject of the related summary offence.
2. When participating in a record of interview, you claimed that you believed the money being paid into the L&J Group Investment account was part of a loan or private investment organised by someone else. You denied having any knowledge of Vanguard Investments or Nomura Holdings.
3. The offences on Indictment P11882145 occurred over two years later. These offences are fully detailed in the Amended Summary of Prosecution Opening on this indictment.[2]
4. On 10 August 2023, three covert operatives attended at the Spring Square Shopping Centre in Hallam and parked their vehicle close to your vehicle. One of the operatives spoke to an associate of yours, saying they needed help changing a tyre.
5. Your associate said his friend could help and you soon arrived.
6. You saw that there was a deal bag of drugs in the covert operatives' car. You told one of the covert operatives that, 'it's what we do', and you retrieved a large bundle of cash from your vehicle, saying, 'we do everything'. When the operative sought clarification you said, 'We do everything. We don't do it, we sell it'.
7. When you were asked if you sold cocaine, you confirmed it, pointing at the cash in your hand. You introduced yourself to the covert operatives as Sunny, telling them that you were a 'bulk supplier', and didn't work, adding, 'There's no point unless you make $40-$50,000 per night'. One of the operatives asked if they could buy cocaine that night, and you said you had sold the last of the cocaine, but had heroin available. The operative agreed to purchase heroin.
8. Your associate, Jim, gave the operative a plastic bag with a rock in it. You said it was free, but the operative insisted on paying for it. You gave the operatives your telephone number. They discussed buying cocaine. You said you only dealt in bulk amounts. Later on, the drugs that had been purchased from you were analysed and found to be 1.5g: heroin 27% and methorphan 17%.
9. On 11 August there was an exchange of messages between you and one of the operatives. She said her boyfriend would be keen to discuss moving bulk amounts of drugs, and enquired about prices from you. You gave her prices for heroin, higher quality heroin, ice and cocaine.
10. On 17 August you sent a further text message to one of the operatives, asking her to help move some 'stuff' when she returned from a weekend in Sydney. On 22 August more messages were exchanged, with the operative saying her boyfriend was 'super keen to buy bulk'. You asked whether he wanted to try 250 grams, and they agreed to meet to discuss it.
11. On 23 August you agreed to meet the operative in Thornbury on 26 August. The operative asked how much it would cost for her boyfriend to buy a sample of cocaine and also of 999, higher quality heroin. You replied the sample of cocaine would be free, but you had sold out of 999. The operative said her boyfriend would not accept a free sample and would probably want a gram of cocaine.
12. On 26 August an operative enquired about 'l' (methylamphetamine). You said it was not available. You rescheduled the meeting that was to take place that day.
13. On 27 August 2023, you met with the operatives at Cramers Hotel in Preston.
14. You placed a plastic wrapper containing a hard substance in one of the operative's hand, refusing to take payment. You said the sample you provided was 91 % pure cocaine, and the drugs were later analysed and confirmed to be 1 gram of cocaine at 74 % purity.
15. You claimed that you could get 50 kg the following day if you wanted to, but you did not specify which drug, and you referred to a, 'new shipment coming in', showing the covert operatives a photograph of a vacuum sealed bag of white powder and saying it was cocaine, and it was arriving the following Wednesday.
16. You showed the operatives photographs of approximately 50 vacuum sealed bags claiming it was '888'. You said the bricks were coming from Sydney and offered to fly the covert operatives to Sydney to bring it back. You also stated you could get 50 kilograms with a day's notice. You recommended they make smaller purchases of half kilograms or ounces, but said you would facilitate larger purchases once you had confidence in them.
17. You described yourself as a 'ghost' and that you would not deal with them directly. Instead, you would provide them with the location for the collection of drugs and dropping off money. You said you were happy to deliver anywhere, including the South-East suburbs, that you made $40-50,000 per day, and owned a transport business employing over 100 people.
18. The covert operatives agreed to purchase 500 grams of 888, (heroin), and 500 grams of cocaine on 1 September 2023
19. On 29 August 2023, there was further negotiations in relation to price. You were told on 31 August that the money was ready for a meeting, and you asked for photo or video confirmation once the money was received.
20. On 1 September 2023, one of the operatives sent a photograph to you of a large amount of cash. You then confirmed the location of the drop off with the operatives.
21. That morning, at 9:30 am, you arrived in a Volvo at Storage King in Epping. The police arrested you a short time later as you were coming out of a storage unit.
22. The police searched the satchel that you were carrying, and found it contained $1,930 in cash, digital scales, and a Google mobile phone. They searched the Volvo and found a small bag containing brown liquid, which was tested and found to be cocaine. In your storage locker they located a hammer and metal kitchen utensil, a cardboard box containing multiple bags of white powder, and metallic noodle pressing devices. Inside the press they located aluminium foil, which enclosed four sealed bags of brown liquid. Further plastic bags of white and yellow powder and brown liquid were found on you when you were searched.
23. A search on your home was then conducted, executing a search warrant. There the police located $3,650 in cash, a gold ring with diamonds, gold Rolex links, a Gucci scarf, Gucci, handbag, white Gucci sneakers and a Louis Vuitton bag. These, the Volvo, and the $1,930 in your satchel, are the subject of Charge 4 of the indictment.
24. At your home the police also found vacuum sealed sachets containing a brown substance hidden in the electrical power box.
25. You were interviewed at Mill Park police station, and denied all offending. Later the drugs that had been seized from you were analysed and were found as follows:

Cocaine: 26.8 grams at 80% purity, 24.6 grams at 76% purity, 25.8 grams at 76% purity and 476.6 grams at 78 % purity.

Heroin: 531 grams at 24% purity/methorphan 14% purity.

1. The total amount of drugs detected were 432.992 grams pure weight of cocaine, and 127.536 grams pure weight of heroin. These are the subject of Charges 1 and 2.
2. There was 893 grams of morphine mixed weight, and that is the subject of Charge 3.
3. I turn now to the gravity of the offending.
4. First, in relation to Indictment Q1132917.1, recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime.
5. In total, $550,000 was transferred to the L&J Group Investment and Auswide Express Pty Ltd accounts, both of which were controlled by you. This is a significant amount.
6. As agreed by both counsel, you are not charged in relation to how the funds became proceeds of crime. You are not being sentenced for the fraudulent misrepresentations which induced the complainants to transfer their savings. You are being charged for recklessly dealing with the funds transferred to the two accounts, being the proceeds of crime.
7. During your interview with the police, you stated that you believed that the money being transferred to these accounts was part of a loan or private investment that you had organised with a third party.
8. However, your counsel conceded that the circumstances in which the 'loan' was arranged was clearly and obviously suspicious, and that you 'did know it did not seem right or proper'. You have pleaded to recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime.
9. Therefore, I find that your moral culpability is high in relation to these offences.
10. I now turn to the drug related offences (Indictment P11882145).
11. Trafficking a drug of dependence is a serious offence. Trafficking a commercial quantity is especially serious as indicated by the maximum penalty of 25 years' imprisonment.
12. With regards to Charge 1, the cocaine, the police recovered 555.8 grams mixed weight which contained 432.992 grams pure cocaine.
13. According to Schedule 11 of the Drugs Poisons Controlled Substance Act 1981, 432.992 grams of pure cocaine is 1.73 times the commercial quantity.
14. With regards to Charge 2, being the trafficking of a commercial quantity of heroin, the police recovered 531.4 grams mixed weight containing 127.536 grams of pure heroin.
15. According to Schedule 11 of the Drugs Poisons Controlled Substance Act 1981, 127.536 grams of pure heroin is 2.55 times the commercial quantity.
16. With regard to Charge 3, there was 893 grams of morphine mixed weight.
17. These are significant quantities.
18. In your communications with the covert operatives, it is clear that you played a key role in coordinating the deals that are the subject of Charges 1, 2 and 3.
19. You were in a position to discuss the types and quantities of drugs that were available to be purchased and the prices at which you were willing to sell them.
20. You had knowledge of when new shipments would be arriving and confirmed that you could obtain large quantities of drugs on short notice.
21. You described your role as a 'ghost' and were responsible for organising where the drugs would be dropped off and where payment could be made. You were the individual accessing the storage container where those drugs, the subject of Charges 1 to 3, were kept.
22. It is therefore evident that you were aware of the nature of the transactions you were facilitating.
23. Your charged involvement is of course limited to one day (1 September 2023) in relation to all four charges in Indictment P11882145.
24. I find your moral culpability to be high in relation to these offences.
25. Your culpability is of course informed by your personal circumstances, to which I now turn.
26. You are 34 years old, married with two children.
27. You were born and raised in Punjab, India. It was a time of turmoil. Your father was killed when you were only one year old and your mother raised you. You are an only child. You had a particularly disadvantageous childhood.
28. When you were born, Punjab was marked by escalating violence, following the 1984 assassination of the Prime Minister.
29. During this time, your mother faced significant challenges as a widow and single mother, and she decided to take you and live with her brothers to ensure your collective safety.
30. However, you were mistreated by your uncles. You were beaten and suffered emotional abuse and between the ages of 7 and 16, you were sexually abused by an older cousin.
31. When you were 16, you and your mother were able to move to another city.
32. You later suffered severe injuries to your spine and arm after a bike accident. These injuries continue to cause you discomfort. You use Panadol daily to manage the pain and have undergone physiotherapy.
33. When you were 20, you married your wife through an arranged marriage. You and your wife moved to Australia in 2012. You have two sons together, aged 8 and 11.
34. You had completed primary school and high school in India and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in computer applications. You performed well academically despite social challenges at school, where you were bullied.
35. Your first paid job after arriving in Victoria was delivering Dominos and Pizza Hut. You also worked as a taxi driver and continued making food deliveries at night. You then obtained a truck licence.
36. In 2014, you started your own trucking business.
37. In 2016, your business encountered some difficulties. You began working with a company who refused to pay most of the invoices issued. As a result, you lost $80,000.
38. In 2018, one of your trucks was involved in a collision which led to the loss of some major contracts.
39. You became bankrupt. This was later reversed as you were able to earn money through gambling and selling some land in India.
40. You were then introduced to someone I will refer to as Mandeep. Mandeep expressed to you that he wanted to go into a partnership to operate a tyre business. Mandeep invested in the business and it was successful for a period of time. You then had a falling out with Mandeep and the business suffered before eventually closing.
41. Following the closure of the business, you were unable to gain meaningful employment. You admitted that you felt like a failure and you turned to illicit drugs. You began using cocaine, initially in the mornings to give you energy to complete your daily tasks. Your drug use escalated, and you began to take opium in the mornings (a habit you first developed in India following a bike accident), and cocaine in the afternoons, and you consumed alcohol in the evenings. You kept your drug habits hidden from your wife.
42. Following your imprisonment, many of your friends have distanced themselves from you and your family. You have not seen your mother since 2022. She has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
43. A psychological report of Gina Cidoni was in evidence. Ms Cidoni concludes that you meet the criteria for several diagnoses including post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse disorders, both alcohol and drug related, and a gambling disorder, which is in remission within a controlled environment. Ms Cidoni administered several tests aimed at assessing your cognitive ability and you demonstrated significant deficits.
44. Ms Cidoni's report stated that imprisonment will be particularly burdensome for you, particularly given your severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
45. Your counsel submitted that Verdins[3] limbs 5 and 6 apply in the circumstances. Namely, that a given sentence will weigh more heavily on you due to your mental conditions and that imprisonment may have a significant adverse effect on your mental health.
46. Counsel for the prosecution raised some evidentiary concerns regarding

Ms Cidoni's report, in particular that it had been written some seven months before the plea hearing, and that the consultation preceding the report was only two hours long. Its accuracy as to your current state was therefore not as clear as it could have been. 47. In all the circumstances I am not satisfied that Verdins limb 6 is established. I take into account Verdins limb 5 to a modest degree in sentencing you. 48. Your wife provided the court with a character reference. 49. She emphasises the difficulties you encountered in your childhood and how you were not raised in a supportive and nurturing environment and how this has impaired your decision making. 50. She speaks of your remorse for your actions and your strong commitment to making amends and rehabilitation. 51. You have no relevant prior convictions. There was one low level subsequent conviction for drug possession. 52. Given the complicated matter in which this matter involving the two indictments, separated by a long period, progressed, I accept that you have pleaded guilty at a reasonably early stage. There is significant utilitarian value in your early plea. I do note however, that initially upon your arrest for the trafficking offences, you did not cooperate with police. 53. With regards to the drug-related offences, your counsel submitted that I should take into account as a mitigating factor that to a degree you were 'entrapped' by the covert operatives. You were contacted, you came, there were drugs sitting in their car, and matters went from there. 54. The prosecution agree that, yes, the police put the drugs in the back seat, but say you went with that situation 'and ran with it'. 55. As stated in the case of DPP v Kada[4], although there is a possibility that the specific offending before this court would not have occurred but for the involvement of the covert operatives, this will often be the case in covert operations. 56. The facts of this matter are that once you noticed a deal bag in the operatives' car you made it clear to the operatives that you were able to obtain large amounts of drugs for the purposes of sale, and although you are only charged in relation to the trafficking that occurred on 1 September 2023, your counsel conceded that your interactions with the operatives indicate that this was not the first time you had sought to traffic drugs. You readily engaged with the operatives and negotiated a deal and it is clear that you had done so in the past. 57. I am not satisfied in this case that the involvement of the covert operatives is a significant mitigating factor. I allow it as a mitigating factor to a minor degree. 58. I consider that you have reasonable prospects of rehabilitation. 59. Prior to your remand, you had a strong work history. 60. Whilst in remand you have engaged in a number of programs directed at addressing your drug habits and reintegration into the community, demonstrating a commitment to rehabilitation. 61. You have the support of your wife who has attended both your plea hearing and sentence today. Whilst you have been in remand, your wife has organised external counselling sessions which you have been engaging in weekly. You have two children, and are determined to remain sober for their sake. 62. Your counsel accepted a sentence requiring a term of imprisonment is warranted in all the circumstances, but it was submitted that to enhance your prospects of rehabilitation, a sentence which allows you to spend a significant period on parole would be appropriate as you would benefit from the structure, support and supervision such a sentence would provide. 63. I do not consider there are specific or overwhelming factors in mitigation that justify a departure from the usual course of a head sentence and a non-parole period other than the matters to which I have already referred. 64. Given your lack of relevant priors and positive prospects of rehabilitation, specific deterrence plays a less significant role in these circumstances. 65. General deterrence however is a central concern. Drug-related offences have a devastating impact on the community, and dealing with proceeds of crime also seriously impacts the community. 66. I must therefore impose a sentence that condemns your actions and deters others from committing similar offending. 67. I take into account the principles of totality, and the need to avoid double punishment. 68. I have considered the current sentencing principles for these offences and the table of comparable cases which provide some guidance. As always, every case turns on its own facts. 69. Having regard to the maximum penalties imposed by Parliament and taking into account all other matters to which I have referred, I now sentence you as follows. 70. On Indictment Q1132197.1:

(a) on Charge 1 (recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime) you are convicted and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.

(b) on related Summary Charge 8 (possessing a prohibited weapon without exemption or approval), you are convicted and fined $400.

(a) on Charge 1 (trafficking a commercial quantity - cocaine) you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years and 3 months' imprisonment.

(b) on Charge 2 (trafficking a commercial quantity - heroin) you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months imprisonment. This is the head sentence.

(c) on Charge 3 (trafficking a drug of dependence) you are convicted and sentenced to 1 year and 3 months' imprisonment.

(d) on Charge 4 (knowingly deal with proceeds of crime) you are convicted and sentenced to 1 year and 3 months' imprisonment.

1. I order, in relation to the charges on Indictment P11881445, that 3 months of the sentence imposed on Charge 1, 1 month of the sentence imposed on Charge 3, and 1 month of the sentence imposed on Charge 4, be served cumulatively on Charge 2 and on each other.
2. I direct that 9 months of the sentence of imprisonment imposed on Charge 1 of Indictment Q1132197.1 be served cumulatively on the sentences imposed on Charges 1,2, 3 and 4 of Indictment P118821445.
3. I order that all of the sentences of imprisonment be served concurrently.
4. This makes a total effective sentence of 4 years and 8 months' imprisonment.
5. I fix a non-parole period of 2 years and 9 months.
6. You have served 586 days by way of pre-sentence detention, and I declare that period as time already served under this sentence.
7. I grant both of the forfeiture and disposal orders sought by the Prosecution, which are not opposed.
8. Pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991, I declare that had you not pleaded guilty, the sentence I would have imposed would have been 5 years and 10 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 3 years and 6 months.

[3] R v Verdins [2007] VSCA 102; (2007) 16 VR 269

[4] [2017] VSCA 339