A drug trafficking sentence for possession of 12.9kg cannabis was increased from nine to 12 years on Monday by the court of appeal.

During his initial trial, the defendant admitted possession of 12.9kg of cannabis with intent to supply.

The lower court sentenced nine years for possession with intent to supply, absorbing the more serious offence into simple possession.

The attorney general appealed, claiming the sentence was too lenient, arguing the court overlooked the offence’s seriousness and misapplied sentencing case law.

The court of appeal acknowledged that while sentencing is mainly a first-instance responsibility, it can intervene if a sentence is “manifestly insufficient or excessive.” Its role is to ensure accuracy, not to reassess punishment.

The court characterised the defendant as “a key link in the chain of spreading slow death,” with drugs chiefly affecting young people.

It noted a continuous rise in drug-related offences and said strict treatment of offenders was imperative.

Mitigating factors included a clean criminal record, confession and personal circumstances.

However, the court said excessive weight had been given to them, resulting in a “blatant discrepancy” between seriousness and sentence.

At the same time, the court of appeal referred to earlier case law stating the need for deterrent sentences.

“Drugs have become a scourge and a cancer of our society… rapidly worsening,” it said.

The trial court failed to assess the scale of the operation and the distribution risk, it added.