The Court convicted two customs depot employees — one as principal offender under s 33(1) Customs Act and one as aider and abettor under s 236 — for intentionally removing unknown contents from a consignment subject to customs control, imposing penalties of $50,000 and $40,000 respectively (against a maximum of $125,200 each). The Court assessed the offending as mid-range, emphasising general deterrence, the breach of trust inherent in their positions, and the community harm from circumventing customs protections, while noting the prosecution could not prove beyond reasonable doubt what the removed substance was despite presumptive cocaine testing. The Court treated Tabua's aiding and abetting as equivalent to principal offending on the facts, applying Giorgianni, and found that neither defendant's failure to cooperate with authorities or identify the removed goods, combined with the absence of contrition or mitigating submissions, warranted significant penalties notwithstanding the unknown nature of the goods.
The full text is available to signed-in members.