When sentencing for drug importation offences under s 16A(1)(g) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), the utilitarian value of a plea of guilty must be taken into account in addition to the facilitation of the course of justice. A sentencing court should focus on what a drug offender actually did rather than attempting to assign a precise position within a syndicate hierarchy. An importation of 142kg of pure methamphetamine by non-principal offenders, while well above mid-range, does not approach the worst category of offending.
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