STATE OF TASMANIA v ALEXANDRA ROSE KOBELKE 20 NOVEMBER 2019
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE BLOW CJ
Ms Kobelke has pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking in a controlled substance. Over a period of about 13 months, from 10 December 2017 to 3 January 2019, she trafficked in methylamphetamine (“Ice”) and cocaine by bringing large quantities of those drugs from Sydney to Hobart, delivering them in wholesale quantities to others, collecting large sums of money, and transporting the money from Hobart to Sydney. She flew from Sydney to Hobart and back 13 times for the purposes of the trafficking operation, and was arrested in Sydney when about to embark on her fourteenth trip.
It is not possible to be specific about the quantities of drugs that she brought to Tasmania or the amount of money that she took back to Sydney. However the following information gives some indication of the scale of the operation that she was involved in:
- On her second trip, in September 2018, she travelled to four different addresses in Hobart.
- During her fourth trip, an accomplice returned to Sydney with large quantities of cash in his carry-on luggage. Some hours later, she used her phone to make a video recording that showed large quantities of $50 and $100 notes sitting on a bench. When she returned to Sydney, an x-ray of her carry-on bag showed bundles of cash.
- On her fifth trip, on 25 and 26 September, surveillance operatives saw her travel to several places in the suburbs of Hobart for the purpose of drug deals. When she flew home, her carry-on luggage contained four large bundles of cash.
- On her seventh trip, in December 2018, she returned to Sydney with a large amount of cash.
- On her eighth trip, on 22 December, when she and an accomplice were under surveillance, they made a sale of 10 ounces of methylamphetamine. That drug sells for at least $8,000 for an ounce. If sold by the point (0.1g), 10 ounces would fetch $28,000. She flew back to Sydney the next night with about $100,000 in cash.
- On 3 January 2019 she was arrested at Sydney airport when she was about to fly to Hobart. She was carrying about 5 ounces of methylamphetamine and 54.87 grams of cocaine, as well as some ecstasy. If the methylamphetamine had been sold by the ounce, it would have fetched at least $40,000. If the cocaine had been sold by the gram, it would have fetched over $16,000.
- Following her arrest, she consented to police searching her apartment, and $4,000 in cash was found there.
- There were occasions when accomplices travelled to Hobart without Ms Kobelke. The home of one Sydney accomplice was searched in March 2019. The police found over $43,000 in cash, replica firearms, multiple phones, and a taser at that residence.
- It is not disputed that Ms Kobelke and others transported proceeds from the sale of drugs amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars from Hobart to Sydney.
Ms Kobelke was not in control of this trafficking operation. She was working for one or more other people. There is no suggestion that she was receiving a share of the profits. I accept that she was promised money and/or drugs for making each trip. She was a daily user of cocaine. Her counsel told me that she was paid much less than the total amount that she was promised in cash, but I do not consider that to be a mitigating factor. She was involved not just in transporting drugs, dealing with purchasers, and bringing money back to Sydney. She also packaged the drugs, using cryovac to hide their smell.
Ms Kobelke is 26 years old. She has no significant convictions, even though she has been a drug user since she was about 13. She has led an unfortunate life. During her primary school years she lived with her mother, but her mother died from the long-term effects of drug abuse when she was 12. She then lived with her father in another State for a few years, but left his home when she was 15 because of problems with her stepmother. She has looked after herself ever since then, with no support from anyone else. She has worked in the hospitality industry, in bars, and as a stripper. She started using cannabis when she was 13, and later used ecstasy. For a time she had an alcohol problem. It is not surprising that she became a user of hard drugs, and agreed to make money transporting them when she was offered the opportunity.
She was bailed after her arrest in January. Charges are still pending against her in Sydney in relation to the drugs that the New South Wales police seized at that time. She was arrested again on this trafficking charge on 5 March and has been in custody ever since. I will backdate her sentence to that day.
Apart from the trafficking charge, she has been charged on nine counts of using false identification information to obtain air passenger tickets. She has pleaded guilty to all of those charges. I am dealing with them under s 385A of the Criminal Code. There were nine occasions when she bought air tickets in false names for the purpose of drug-related trips to Hobart. I will have to sentence her separately in relation to those charges because they relate to Commonwealth offences. I will impose convictions in relation to those nine charges, but I see no need to impose any additional penalties for that offending.
Although Ms Kobelke was a worker rather than an entrepreneur, this is a serious case of trafficking. Ice is highly addictive and damaging to health. It causes great harm to those who become addicted to it, and to the people around them. Its use and trade results in a lot of criminal activity, especially serious crimes of dishonesty and violence. The detection and prosecution of this sort of trafficking requires the allocation of significant police and State resources. The only appropriate penalty is a significant sentence of imprisonment. However, because Ms Kobelke is a first offender, I will impose the shortest possible non-parole period.
It is very significant that Ms Kobelke has pleaded guilty at an early stage. If she had defended this case, it is highly unlikely that she would have been found not guilty. However her decision to plead guilty has avoided the cost and inconvenience of a trial. She should therefore be entitled to a sentencing discount in the range of 20 to 25%. If she had not pleaded guilty, I would have sentenced her to 3½ years’ imprisonment or thereabouts.
Alexandra Rose Kobelke, on the trafficking charge I convict you and sentence you to 2 years 8 months’ imprisonment with effect from 5 March 2019. You will not be eligible for parole until you have served 16 months of this sentence. I order that the sum of $4,000 seized in your Sydney apartment in January 2019 be forfeited to the State of Tasmania. I convict you on counts 2-10 on complaint 2156/2019.