Man’s drug sentence increased to 10 years

A 24-year-old man currently serving a seven-year jail term after he was found with over 10kg of cannabis and 476g of cocaine, saw his sentence increased to 10 years at the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Announcing the decision, court said the initial jail term sentenced concurrently – which was six years for the cocaine and seven years for the cannabis with intent to supply – was not a strong enough deterrent.

Though the defendant was 21 at the time and fully cooperated with authorities, the decision still warrants a tougher penalty because “such cases are on a worrying increase” the Supreme Court ruled.

At the time of his arrest, the suspect admitted to officers they would find drugs in his car. When asked if there were drugs in the Pareklisia apartment he was parked outside of, he said “yes, you’ll find it all anyway.”

He cooperated with police and pointed them to all the boxes containing drugs and informing them how much was in each container. He also showed them where the two precision scales he had were.

His defence argued that since he was sentenced to prison, the 24-year-old had to be admitted to the Athalassa psychiatric ward for substance-induced psychosis. Defence also highlighted he had a clear criminal record prior to this and had not hesitated to cooperate with police.

The Supreme Court determined that the fact he was caught red handed and did not confess who the mastermind was, reduced the degree of cooperation.

It ruled each sentence should be increased to 10 years, justifying the equal sentence due to the quantity of drugs. The sentences will run concurrently.