Where there has been extraordinary unexplained delay between offending and charge during which an offender has undergone impressive rehabilitation, a wholly suspended sentence may be appropriate even for serious drug trafficking approaching a commercial quantity, where the offender played a subordinate role as a trusted emissary rather than a senior operative. The public interest in community protection may be better served by enabling continued rehabilitation than by imposing immediate imprisonment more than five years after the offending.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 2 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 2 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.