Almost half of serious drug cases result in sentences of five to 10 years, with penalties of close to 30 years being imposed in a small number of cases.
A study to be published today by the Irish Sentencing Information System, an initiative chaired by Chief Justice Susan Denham, also shows that heroin and cocaine account for 70 per cent of all serious drugs offences that came before the courts in recent years.
The research, based on 81 cases at the Court of Criminal Appeal between 2009 and 2012, finds that in serious cases of drug possession, sale or importation, just 23 per cent of offenders get the "presumed" minimum of 10 years or more.
Some 46 per cent receive a 5-10-year sentence, 18 per cent get 2-5 years and 3 per cent less than two years.
Possession of larger amounts and harder types of drugs result in harsher sentences. In the study sample, three cases attracted a penalty of 27-30 years. In less serious cases – where value of the drugs is below €13,000 – three quarters of offenders (75 per cent) receive 2-5 years, 5 per cent more than five years, 15 per cent less than two years and 5 per cent suspended sentences.
Drug in question
The report, by Kelly Mackey of the Judicial Researchers' Office, shows that the most common drug in question was cocaine (45 per cent of cases), followed by heroin (25 per cent), cannabis (21 per cent) and ecstasy and other amphetamines (6 per cent). The large majority (93 per cent) of offenders in the sample were male.
The study identifies four factors that feature most prominently when judges hand down sentences for drug trafficking: the quantity or value of the drugs, the type of drugs, the role of the offender and his/her condition.
The “role of the offender”, or level of involvement, can mitigate or aggravate sentence, with couriers getting lighter terms compared to those involved in the planning or organising of drug trafficking.
Under the “condition” of the offender, judges on the appeal court have given lesser penalties to those involved in the offence due to being drug addicts, or if they participate as a result of coercion of exploitation.
Factor in sentencing
But the value of a haul emerges as the key factor in sentencing. For example, on July 2nd, 2007, an operation to import what transpired to be the largest cocaine seizure in the State to date – €440 million– was intercepted. Three individuals were each sentenced to 30 years, 30 years and 25 years – the longest sentences ever handed down for drug trafficking.
The type of drug has until recently had a limited influence on sentencing. In recent years, however, the Court of Criminal Appeal has cited drug type as a factor that can aggravate – but not mitigate – sentence. The court recently compared two cases – one involving €6.2 million of heroin, the other €12 million of cannabis resin. Both resulted in an 18-year sentence, with Mr Justice John Murray noting heroin posed "the most acute risks for those caught in the tragic lair of addiction."
Under law, the ordinary offences of possession or importation (section 15 of the Customs Act) for sale or supply carry a maximum sentence of an unlimited fine or life imprisonment. For offences where the value of the drugs is €13,000 (sections 15A or 15B) or more, the maximum sentence is again life imprisonment but a sentence of at least 10 years is mandatorily “presumed”. However, “exceptional and specific circumstances” can justify a lower penalty.
