Attorney General's Reference (Nos. 99 and 100 of 2005); R v Jules Devere Whiteway and Others
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | THE VICE PRESIDENT |
| Judgment Date | 07 February 2005 |
| Neutral Citation | [2005] EWCA Crim 294 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) |
| Date | 07 February 2005 |
| Docket Number | No: 200404409/A5200404410/A5200404411/A5200404412/A5 |
[2005] EWCA Crim 294
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London, WC2
The Vice President
(lord Justice Rose)
Lady Justice Smith
Mr Justice Butterfield
No: 200404409/A5200404410/A5200404411/A5200404412/A5
Reference By The Attorney General Under
S.36 Criminal Justice Act 1988
MR RICHARD HORWELL appeared on behalf of the ATTORNEY GENERAL
MR CHARLES BENSON appeared on behalf of the OFFENDER WHITEWAY
MISS JANETTE HAYNE appeared on behalf of the OFFENDER CONNELL
MR PETER ROWLANDS appeared on behalf of the OFFENDER LONG
MR SIMON MAYO appeared on behalf of the OFFENDER NADARAJAH
The Attorney-General seeks the leave of the Court, under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, to refer sentences said to be unduly lenient. We grant leave.
The application relates to four offenders: Whiteway, who was born in June 1972 and so is now 32; Connell, who was born in December 1973 and who is now 31; Long, who was born in January 1973 and is now 32; and Nadarajah, who was born in October 1970 and is now 34.
The offender Whiteway was indicted on a total of six counts. At the plea and directions hearing on 4th March 2004 he pleaded not guilty to each count. On 16th June he changed his plea to guilty on three of the counts: count 1, of conspiracy to supply cocaine, count 3, of conspiracy to supply cannabis resin and count 5, conspiracy to supply cannabis. The remaining three counts were ordered to lie on the file on the usual terms.
On 9th July he was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court by His Honour Judge Mackinnon to 12 years on count 1, 4 years on count 3 and 3 years on count 5. Those sentences to run concurrently.
In summary, he was a principal conspirator in a well-organised commercial enterprise to supply large quantities of cocaine, in particular, and also, in his case, cannabis resin and cannabis. Whiteway made considerable profits from his drug dealing and he enjoyed a lifestyle very different from that which could have been funded out of his very modest declared income.
Connell was indicted on count 1 only. At the plea and directions hearing he pleaded not guilty. On 17th June 2004 he changed his plea to guilty. He was sentenced on 9th July by the same judge to 8 years' imprisonment.
In summary, he delivered or received cocaine on a number of occasions as part of this well-organised commercial enterprise to supply drugs in wholesale quantities. He also helped in the keeping of business records.
Long pleaded guilty at the plea and directions hearing on 4th March to count 1, the conspiracy to supply cocaine. That plea was accepted and the remaining five counts lying against him on the indictment were ordered to remain on the file. He was sentenced by the same judge, on the same occasion, to 9 years' imprisonment. In summary, he made a significant contribution to this enterprise over a period of a number of months. He assisted in the keeping of business trading records for the conspiracy and so, in consequence, was necessarily aware of the scale of that which was taking place. He received the equivalent of 11.2 kilograms of cocaine of 100% purity. He had a key to one of the storage units for drugs and cash.
The offender Nadarajah was indicted on the same six counts and to all of them he pleaded not guilty at the plea and directions hearing. On 16th June he changed his plea to guilty on count 1 and the remaining counts were left on the file. He was sentenced, on the same occasion, by the same judge, to 7 years' imprisonment. He, in summary, had delivered to Long the equivalent of 11.2 kilograms of cocaine of 100% purity at the unit in East London used by the conspirators for storage purposes. It was also the centre from which distribution occurred of large quantities of cocaine at a wholesale level.
It was accepted that this single delivery by Nadarajah was the only one which he made. But his contribution to the conspiracy and the level at which he operated, having regard to the size of that delivery, was clearly significant.
In a little more detail, the conspiracy alleged in each of the counts in the indictment was described as existing on or before 5th September 2003. It was the Crown's case that the conspiracy had existed for a considerable period before that date. The storage and distribution facilities were in a number of storage units at the Truman's Brewery building in Brick Lane, East London. Between 1st June 1999 and 1st August 2003 the offender Whiteway rented three storage units at that building. They were rented in a variety of different names and the deposits to secure them and the rents in payment for them were made in cash.
On 5th September 2003 the three offenders Long, Connell and Nadarajah, and a woman called Amanda Stookin were observed in a variety of places and activities.
Just after 6.00 in the evening, Long and Connell were together in Regent's Park. Long drove there in a silver BMW motorcar which was registered to Whiteway. Connell arrived in the back of a black Fiat motorcar registered to Connell, but it had previously been registered to Whiteway. Just before 7 o'clock, Long drove the silver BMW to a street near to the storage units to which we have referred, where he parked. Long alighted, carrying a black canvass bag, and walked towards the units. At 7.11 pm he was back in the street and used a mobile telephone to contact the offender Nadarajah. At 7.20 a black Range Rover arrived driven by Amanda Stookin. Nadarajah was a passenger. Long directed the Range Rover to park next to the BMW. Nadarajah and Long, from the boot of the Range Rover, unloaded three boxes, which they took to one of the storage units which Whiteway had rented from 1st August 2003. A minute or two later, Long walked away from the storage units and started to run. He went into a public house in Brick Lane. A minute or two later he was arrested there by customs officers.
At 7.58, Nadarajah was arrested as he left the unit to which the boxes had been taken. That unit was searched. The three boxes from the Range Rover were found. They contained 25 blocks of cocaine, the total weight of which was 14.8 kilograms of between 76 and 78% purity, that is the equivalent of just over 11 kilograms of cocaine at 100% purity. In addition, there was the usual paraphernalia for large-scale drug dealing, a hydraulic press, metal plates for the press, electronic scales, rubber gloves, scalpels, re-sealable bags, a large quantity of cash, a selection of mobile telephones and jugs. Many of these items were contaminated by traces of cocaine. From another storage unit, Unit 33 Block 24, which the offender Whiteway had rented on 1st June 2001, just over 5.7 kilograms of cannabis resin and just over 1.1 kilograms of herbal cannabis were found, as also were £200,000 in used notes and the largest of the three presses which were recovered.
There was also recovered from the unit to which the boxes from the Range Rover had been taken a computer, which contained trading records for the drug supply conspiracy. Those began on 30th May 2002, but it was clear from the recorded opening balances that dealing had started before then. The offender Long was the original keeper of that record, but he signed it off on 2nd September 2003 and passed it on to Connell for him to keep. That indicates the degree of trust placed in Connell. An undated text message from Connell's mobile telephone referred to, in coded form, cash, "but not to worry because the computer had been flooded and was not working properly". That message was sent after the first arrest of offenders had been made. The computer referred to in that message has not been traced. It is apparent that the opening and closing trade records have not been recovered. But analysis of those computer records which have been recovered reveals that, in relation to cocaine, 142.26 kilograms, in relation to cannabis resin, 566.089 kilograms, and in relation to herbal cannabis, just over 434 kilograms had been handled and dealt with. The total cash turnover was just over £7.6 million. That analysis does not include the 14.8 kilograms of cocaine, delivered by Nadarajah to Long on 5th September 2003.
When Long was arrested, as we have described, in the public house on 5th September, he had in his possession a key to the unit where the boxes had been delivered and the computer, to which we have referred, was. When his home address was searched, the key to another unit was found; and at that unit, cannabis and cash were recovered. Long also had in his possession documents and computer equipment showing that he was one of those involved in compiling the trading records of the business. On interview, he made no reply to the questions asked of him.
Nadarajah, as we have said, was arrested on 5th September 2003. When his home was searched there was found a sum of just over £2,300 in cash, together with a money counting machine and various documents relating to the use of expensive motor vehicles. In a storage unit there was another hydraulic press, contaminated with cocaine. The house in which Nadarajah lived was of very considerable value. He made no comment when he was interviewed. His declared income for 2001 to 2002 was less than £8,000.
On 19th September the offender Whiteway was arrested in East London. He made no comment in interview. He declared annual income to the Inland Revenue of £20,000. He lived in a house worth £300,000. He owned the silver BMW to which we have referred and...
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