CRIMINAL CASE NO. 300 OF 2009
COURT: I have to sentence you for two charges of trafficking in a dangerous drug.
The dangerous drug was heroin. You were caught with 6.83 grammes of it on you. A further 86 grammes were back at your home. The total you possessed for the purpose of trafficking was 92.86 grammes.
You know perfectly well that the sentences are passed for such offences by reference to guidelines which are based upon the nature and the weight of the drug.
Your case falls in the 50 to 200 grammes category, attracting a starting point after trial of 8 to 12 years’ imprisonment.
On the mathematical side, this would attract a starting point in the region of 9 years, but the fact is you are a repeat offender. This is the third time you have stood in the dock in the High Court to be sentenced for trafficking. In 1992 you were sentenced to 8 years for trafficking in a dangerous drug; in 1998, for 6½ years, for the same offence; and then in 2003, 20 months for trafficking, and a further 10 months for possession of dangerous drugs.
17 years have passed since 1992, and in that time, the courts have sentenced you to 17 years' worth of imprisonment. You will not learn; you repeat your criminal conduct.
In those circumstances, you cannot expect the same starting point as a man who appears here for the first time for such a crime. This does not mean that you are punished twice, but the history that I have outlined is an aggravation of your present offence, and has to be reflected reasonably in the sentence I pass.
I shall take a starting point overall of 10½ years' imprisonment, and I shall give you a third discount for your plea of guilty.
That would result in a sentence of 7 years. That is the sentence I pass on Charge 2. That sentence is based upon the overall picture.
Accordingly, the 16-month sentence I pass on Charge 1, in respect of the small amount you had upon you, will be concurrent.
The total sentence of imprisonment is therefore 7 years.