In drug trafficking cases involving extraordinary quantities of drugs and money, the offender's actual role in the operation (courier/agent versus principal/manager) is a critical factor that may justify a significantly lower sentence than the scale of the operation might otherwise suggest. A sentence of five years suspended after two years was upheld for an offender who moved drugs worth $5.74 million and collected $1.5 million in debts, where the offender acted essentially as a paid courier/agent rather than a principal, was young with no relevant criminal history, cooperated extensively with authorities, and was assessed as very low risk of reoffending.
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