A lack of knowledge of the precise nature of a prohibited import may be a mitigating factor in sentencing for drug offences under s 233B of the Customs Act, but the onus is on the offender to establish the fact. Where an offender claims positive knowledge and intention to possess only one type of drug, that version may be inconsistent with a guilty plea to possession of a different type of drug found in the same package. Sentences for MDMA offences should be assessed by reference to the statutory provisions applicable to MDMA rather than by comparison with heroin or cocaine.
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