The penalty for trafficking shellfish is greater than that for trafficking heroin.
Sydney abalone smuggler jailed and fined $69,000
I love abalone, they are my favourite shellfish. In Australia we seldom get to eat them nowadays, because they command such a high price in Japan. Nobody has ever died from eating abalone.
I have occasionally (illegally) taken half a dozen off the rocks for my own consumption, and if I had been caught and prosecuted, I would have copped the sentence sweet.
But this is ridiculous.
The abalone fishery is threatened, but they are not an endangered species.
People die on the streets of this city every night, and the heroin traffickers that cause those deaths get off with a thousand dollar fine and a bond to be of good behaviour.
Where is the equity in that?
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In all fairness, the guy is out on bail pending an appeal......... "The penalty was one of the highest for a fisheries offence in the state's history, DPI director of fisheries compliance Glenn Tritton said in a statement.".......One reason for this is they believe he was TRAFFICKING, not taking a few for self. The fine was in line with sales, you can get about $90 a kg on the black market so just this one catch would of seen him with around roughly 100kg or $9,000.
http://www.illegal-fishing.info/uploads/AIC-illegal-mkt-in-australian-a…
Beware those fishy bargains
I understand what you are sharing on face value as far as drugs go and it may well apply to some cases, but "commercial quantities:
* Cannabis - 100 kilograms;
* Hashish - 50 kilograms;
* Cocaine - 2 kilograms (pure);
* Heroin - 1.5 kilograms (pure).
The penalty/ mandatory sentencing for trafficking a commercial quantity is up to 25 years to life in jail." Not only that, traffickers have ALL possessions frozen and repossessed now under the drug laws, including but not limited to bank accounts, houses, cars, boats etc.
If it stands, the guy will have a nice fine, but as far as jail time (prison) he will be lucky to serve 7 months when good behavior is taken into consideration as we both know.
Lawstuff Australia - Know Your Rights - - Topics - Drugs - Supply and Trafficking
It is true what you shared, drug traffickers in this country do not receive what the mandate requires. "Given the stakes they play for, it's atrocious that people who peddle death can get suspended sentences and spend no time in jail," he said.
"The Sentencing Advisory Council statistics showed an average fine of $1036 for the 22 commercial traffickers fined as part of their sentence during the past five years.
Of 67 offenders sentenced to jail in 2004-09 for trafficking in a large commercial quantity of drugs, only three got a minimum of more than 10 years."
Quarter of criminals convicted of drug trafficking not sentenced to jail | thetelegraph.com.au
Leaves you to question the justice system or should that be INjustice?.......
double post....
Thank you for the information. As usual, you seem to have the research you have already done at your fingertips.
However, I think it inequitable that this guy should get such a severe penalty for moving a few hundred fish (which were probably farmed creatures, anyway, therefore he should have been charged with simple theft) (the ****les are immaterial).
And yet there is a guy selling heroin to teenagers, (passing them used fitpaks so they can go around the corner to the machine and exchange them for a fresh one) on the main street of my neighbourhood, metres from the police station, every day. The cops won't do anything about this guy, because he is "small time" and they are "waiting for the big fish". How many schoolkids have to die while the cops treat enforcement of the law like a sportsfishing holiday?
I disagree, i think the fine was a good deterrent and sends a clear message to those in the "fishing" community, whether it is enforced or he pays it or not will remain to be seen. As for the guy around the corner from you, i honestly think like many things what one person (Police) will over look another will not. I wonder what would happen if you rang the local station and had a "chat" to a Snr Sgt. If i knew for a fact someone was dealing that sh!t to school kids, you wouldn't shut me up till someone listened and acted. It is one thing to make a choice as an adult aware of the FULL repercussions of those choices, if not indepth, another for kids. We cannot blame the Police if we are not willing to do more ourselves, i am sure someone would listen. Maybe not around that corner, but maybe the next.
Leaving the illegal fishing aside for the moment.
I don't bother with ringing the local area command. I attend in person, and speak to a Snr Sgt, and sometimes an Inspector. I've taken Constables to observe this particular dealer. They take the information back to their superiors. The response has always been something like "If he was operating within 100metres of a school gate or a Church, we could take action". Which really pisses me off, because that is the same response given to the wowsers who object to brothels. (Obviously I am an advocate of licensed, regulated brothels)
I have even gone so far as to allow the police to use my upstairs windows as a vantage point to stake out a well-known dealing location. That resulted in one dealer getting three months imprisonment, another being deported, and the frangipagne tree that was the focal 'cover' being ripped out. I miss the frangipagne.
No-one can accuse me of being unwilling to take action.
That is just crazy to me. Why would they not take action, makes no sense if he is dealing and in full view?? It's good you take an active roll in trying to stop this guy because personally i see many complain about things, but do little or nothing to change the situation, ESPECIALLY if they have to get involved. Many are happy to turn a blind eye as oppossed to put themselves out there. Sorry to hear about the frangipange tree, i have one myself and when it is in full bloom is gorgeous. As for the brothels, i too feel as you do, i would rather see them regulated like Kalgoorlie, than be underground.
It [B]is[/B] crazy. Their justification is that they are after the importers and wholesalers, not the retailers.
My inner-Sydney municipality regulates brothels - most of the time adequately. They must be in localities zoned either commercial or industrial. The "upstairs-downstairs" rule applies. Their signage must be discreet, and only display the name of the establishment and hours of opening. Health inspectors visit each establishment at least monthly, and the workers (ancilliary staff included) have regular sexual health checks. The "not within 100metres of a Church or school" regulation has been allowed to languish, because certain wowser Churches took to renting premises close to Brothels, and declaring them "Chapels of Ease".
Market forces have therefore squeezed the "underground" brothels out of business.
When the frangipagne (what a bugger it is to spell that word!) was ripped out, I obtained - by dead of night - some cuttings, which are thriving in pots in my back yard, some of them ready to be planted out this spring.