Client Avoids Prison Sentence Following Drug Importation Conviction
KANGS has successfully assisted our client to avoid a term of immediate imprisonment following conviction for his involvement, along with a number of other defendants, in the importation of a very substantial quantity of Class A drugs into the UK.
Mohammed Ahmed of KANGS explains how this highly satisfactory outcome was achieved.
The Circumstances
Our client admitted that he had been involved in the offence, which involved delivering a haul of approximately two hundred kilograms of ketamine, having a value of £1.4 million, to the UK from the Netherlands on a fishing boat under the cover of darkness.
Our client had entered a guilty plea late in the proceeding, but sufficiently early to avoid the need for a lengthy and expensive Court trial.
His involvement in the offence was a functional role aboard the vessel, and he had not been involved in planning, organisation, funding, procurement or onward distribution of the drugs.
The Prosecution Case
Whilst the Prosecution accepted that our client may not have been aware at the outset of the voyage that the substance involved was ketamine, believing it to be cannabis, it still maintained that case should be treated as ranking at the highest level of seriousness.
Accordingly, the Prosecution sought to categorise the offending as Category 1 harm and that the scale of the operation was such, that the usual Guideline Framework required a substantial upward adjustment, thereby considerably extending the appropriate level of prison sentence which should be awarded.
The Prosecution submitted that an immediate custodial sentence was inevitable and that the term imposed should not be suspended in view of the gravity of the offence.
The Defence Case Submitted on Behalf of Our Client
Having thoroughly investigated the documents served by the Prosecution and all relevant material, we discussed with our client all of his surrounding personal circumstances, the nature of his involvement in the offence, and the basis of the mitigation to be put to the Court on his behalf.
The highly relevant and pertinent facts which we put before the Court were that our client:
- had no expectation of significant financial reward for his involvement, simply a modest remuneration for work undertaken by him,
- had no stake in the enterprise and was not entitled to share in profits,
- was extremely naive rather than criminally motivated,
- became involved as the result of financial difficulty and disrupted employment caused by unrelated matters,
- was vulnerable to exploitation and accepted work without fully understanding the potential consequences.
The Highly Successful Outcome
The stance adopted by the Prosecution was such that, if successful, depending upon the Category which the Court decided to adopt, he potentially faced an immediate prison sentence of between four and twelve years.
However, following careful consideration of the detailed mitigation meticulously prepared and presented to the Court by the team at KANGS, it considered that our client would be sufficiently penalised by the imposition of a prison sentence of two years which was suspended for eighteen months.
Additionally, the court imposed Community based requirements, including one hundred hours of unpaid work and a tagging requirement.
Official Comment
Ms Ingrid Watson, Regional Head of Investigation at the NCA provided a summary of the case by stating:
“This group used a fishing boat and the cover of darkness to sail from the Netherlands to the UK with a haul of £1.4 million of drugs on board. Little did they know, their crimes were being watched by the NCA, and this expedition would end in their arrest.”
How Can We Assist?
If you are facing a drug-related allegation, you may have been invited to a voluntary police interview or already arrested and interviewed, and now find yourself on bail, under investigation, or charged. Whatever stage you are at, our team is here to guide and support you with expert legal advice and representation.
Contact us using the details below to speak to an experienced solicitor.
Tel: 0333 370 4333
Email: info@kangssolicitors.co.uk
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