Two convicted for morphine manufacture offence

Press, 11 May 1984, Page 7

Two convicted for morphine manufacture offence

An unemployed fisherman who had set up a laboratory in his home to manufacture morphine from codeine tablets' was convicted in the High Court yesterday of a joint charge, with a codefendant, of manufacturing morphine, and three other offences against the Misuse of Drugs Act. Brian Matthew Latta, aged 37, was fined $2OOO by Mr Justice Roper on the charge of manufacturing morphine. He was also sentenced to nine months periodic detention for this offence, and for offences of permitting his premises to be used for an offence against the act, possessing needles and syringes, and possessing a class B controlled drug, cannabis preparation (hashish). Also, he was placed on probation for a year. A sentence of six months periodic detention, and a year’s probation, was imposed on Arthur Francis Michael Jones, aged 32, an unemployed cane worker, on the joint charge with Latta of manufacturing morphine. The two had been committed to the High Court for sentence after pleading guilty to the charges in the District Court. The charge of manufacturing morphine carries a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment. Imposing sentence on Latta, his Honour said he must take a more serious view of Latta’s offending. However, he was not convinced that a custodial sentence was necessary. He said Latta was not in the “Mr Big” category of drug offenders but warned him that the leniency being extended to him was his final chance. Mr S. C. Barker, who appeared for both defendants, submitted on behalf of Latta that he had not been able to resist the temptation placed before him when a friend on a visit from Auckland had given him the required chemicals and shown him how to manufacture morphine. He had only been involved in the manufacturing

for less than two weeks, and had nearly exhausted his supply of chemicals when the police called* at his home. Mr Barker said Latta’s personal life had been a disaster. He was a chronic drug addict and had wasted his life by the use of drugs. Latta had not worked since 1980 but had claimed to have money invested from the sale of a fishing boat, which had been worth about $140,000. Mr Barker said Latta resented himself because of his inability to pull himself out of his addiction. The morphine had been made solely for Latta’s own use, and no commercial enterprise was involved. Mr Barker said Jones had been involved by buying drugs from chemists’ shops for Latta. He said an enormous quantity of codeine was required to manufacture even a very minute quantity of morphine. It was necessary to buy from chemists very large amounts of two drugs for the process. Jones did not appreciate the process, and had only visited Latta’s house once and seen what was occurring — the occasion on which the police arrived. Jones was not a drug user and he was only driven by pecuniary gain to buy drugs for payment from Latta, Mr Barker said. His Honour said Latta could hardly be a “Mr Big,” in manufacturing morphine from codeine tablets. He noted that the police had found 0.99 grams of morphine and 36 milligrams of this drug in solution. His Honour said that the probation report showed that Jones was not a drug user. He had engaged in this operation to provide extra money for his wife and child. “You certainly had your financial problems, not of your making, but you now have prospects of employment,” he said. His Honour agreed with the report that Jones was not likely to offend again. His previous good record would stand him in good stead on this occasion.