CRIMINAL DIVISION
ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT AT STAFFORD and WOLVERHAMTON
HHJ EDWARDS/HHJ CHAMBERS KC
T20217054/T20227107
Strand London WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
MR JUSTICE HILLIARD
MR JUSTICE CONSTABLE
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REX |
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ANTHONY HENRY TERRY |
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Lower Ground Floor, 46 Chancery Lane, London, WC2A 1JE
Tel No: 020 7404 1400; Email: rcj@epiqglobal.co.uk (Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
MR P MITCHELL appeared on behalf of the Crown
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Crown Copyright ©
The facts
The 18-year sentence
"You played, in my judgment, a leading role in organising and directing the storage and movement of 20 kilogrammes of cocaine with high purity and with a wholesale value of nearly £1 million, that is £800,000, from Wolverhampton to Northern Ireland for onward distribution and supply. This operation and your part in it had all the hallmarks of professional crime. You have a previous conviction for a similar matter in 2006 in Ireland when you were convicted of an offence concerning the movement of 10 kilogrammes of cannabis. It is right that I should say, because it is not merely trite, that cocaine is a dangerous drug that not only causes death but can cause misery and severe harm to health with all the social and criminal consequences of supplying and distributing it to vulnerable persons.
Your role was an organisational one beyond mere management. Your role was extensive. You were connected to the premises where it can be inferred that the drugs were stored, concealed within the fuel containers, and then loaded into the van for transport. You obtained and paid for the fork-lift truck which was necessary for all of that to take place and did so well in advance of the actual loading of the drugs. You then recruited the driver who was to take the drugs to Northern Ireland and organised every aspect of his journey, including booking his ferry, taking him to the premises where the drugs were picked up and providing him with the address to which to deliver the load. After the collapse of the scheme, you took sole responsibility for attempting to dispose of evidence which could have been found at the premises where the drugs were loaded and indeed had keys to that unit when arrested."
The 25-year sentence
The extension of time
The approach of the sentencing judge
"When the rest of the country was observing strict lockdown and barely daring to go for a walk in a park, you were organising the movement of vast quantities of drugs across national borders. Multi kilogram loads of cocaine were collected in the Netherlands and imported to this country. Once here, the supply chain kicked in the dealers around the country or in the Republic. You were directing and organising the purchase and sale of large amounts of cocaine on a commercial scale. You had substantial links to and influence on others in the chain. In addition, you not only had an expectation of financial advantage but I am sure you achieved your goal. You are an experienced drugs exporter and importer with contacts in the United Kingdom and abroad. Your role was pivotal."
The grounds of appeal
1. The starting point was far higher than that which should have been taken, having regard to the total quantities of drugs involved.
2. The judge erred in relation to the totality principle.
3. The judge fell into error by increasing the sentence on account of the November 2023 conviction for conspiracy to import cocaine into Northern Ireland.
4. The judge ought to have paid some regard to the fact that other than the November 2023 conviction, the only previous custodial sentence had been one of four years, a long time ago and was not in respect of class A drugs.
5. The judge ought to have determined that the role was significant rather than leading.
6. The judge ought to have expressly given 10 per cent credit for the belated guilty plea at the start of trial. It was not clear from the transcript what the exact level of credit had been afforded.