Plan for stiff new penalties

Press, 4 July 1978, Page 8

Plan for stiff new penalties

NZPA Canberra |i Drug traffickers will face, a maximum penalty of life it imprisonment without the) I option of a fine under pro-; 1 posed changes to Australian'! Federal law. t Courts will be free to im-)< pose the life sentence for ait first offence involving what < are termed “commercial” v quantities of drugs, both hard and soft ones, and for f second and subsequent I: offences involving j < “traffickable amounts.” c The changes, announced I r by the" Business and Con-;n sumer Affairs Minister (Mri Wai Fife),, will replace the|t present maximum under the) e Customs Act of 25 years im-it prisonment or alt sAustloo.ooo fine or both.ic plus the forfeiture of proper-|t ty« Additionally, convicted, s drug peddlers will face the t forfeiture of property ;ii deemed to have been ac-jb quired from the proceeds of’s<

trafficking, a penalty first introduced late last year. However, the Government view had changed because of the incidence of large-scale trafficking involving “professional criminal enterprises and extraordinarily large quantities of narcotics and other dangerous drugs with enormous potential market values.” The Minister did not define “commercial quantity.” i but gave as examples the re-j cent seizures of 1900 kg of) cannabis resin, 10.8 kg of heroin. and 4.68 tonnes ofj marijuana sticks. Mr'Fife also foreshadowed' tougher measures in co-oper-ation with Australian states! to deal with big drug, traffickers absconding while: on bail and compulsory treatment for drug addicts. A spokesman for Mr Fife said later that the changes to the Customs Act imposing the life sentence would be introduced in the Budget session of Parliament.