Elsayed vThe Crown
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
- LORD JUSTICE DAVIS
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Property and Real Estate Law
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The appellant was arrested after police found large quantities of drugs and cash. He pled guilty and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. In confiscation proceedings, the value of the drugs was assessed at the retail level. The appellant contested this, arguing for a wholesale valuation. The court dismissed the appeal, stating that the market value of drugs varies based on the role of the person, and the purpose of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is to deprive criminals of their gains.
Judgment
Lord Justice Davis :
Introduction
This appeal raises a point about the valuation of benefit for the purpose of confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“ the 2002 Act ”). The context is drugs. The judge decided, in the circumstances of the case, that the value of the drugs obtained by the appellant was to be assessed on a retail basis. The appellant contends that the judge was wrong to do so. It is argued on his behalf that the judge was obliged to value the drugs on a wholesale basis. There perhaps is a little more to this case than first meets the eye; and it also may have implications for other cases of this particular kind.
Facts
The background facts can, for present purposes, be very briefly summarised.
In August 2011 the police executed a search warrant at an address in Fulham, London. Some £39,500 in cash was found there, as well as quantities of cocaine, diazepam and cannabis. On examination of the cash the fingerprints of the appellant were found on some of the bank notes. In consequence, the appellant was arrested at his place of work, the Cromwell Hospital, where he was employed as a porter. His work locker was searched. It was found to contain 169 grams of cocaine and a small wrap containing just under 3 grams of cocaine, as well as a large number of bank notes totalling £56,510. His home premises were also searched. No cutting agents or wraps or bags were found at either location, but a set of scales and a scalpel were recovered. The 169 grams of cocaine were of 80% purity. The small wrap was of 5% purity.
In due course, the appellant pleaded guilty to counts of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and possessing criminal property. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by HHJ Matthews, sitting in the Isleworth Crown Court, on 15 February 2012. The appellant had sought to put in a Basis of Plea for the purposes of sentence. This was to the effect that the appellant had been in circumstances of financial and personal stress and had started to take cocaine. After a while his supplier asked him to look after drugs for him and he agreed to store them at his place of work. In return, he received small amounts of cocaine for his personal use and £500 per week. The drugs were not in wraps but in larger quantities: he would, as and when asked, weigh out what his dealer wanted and take them to him. His stated position thus was that he was a custodian of the drugs. He was (he said) also asked, an