An offender convicted of trafficking in a vast large commercial quantity of drugs who chooses to remain silent about their role in the criminal hierarchy cannot thereby dictate that they be sentenced as a low-level courier. Mitigatory facts about role must be proved by the offender; they cannot be inferred merely from the absence of evidence of a senior position. The quantity-based nature of the drug trafficking sentencing regime means that, other things being equal, the larger the quantity the more serious the offending, and a vast quantity alone may place offending in the worst category without proof of additional aggravating factors.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 25 later cases that cite this judgment.
6 of the 25 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.