A sentence of 23 years' imprisonment with a 15-year non-parole period is within the appropriate range for an offender convicted after trial of importing 145.6 kg (pure weight) of methamphetamine as a member of a sophisticated international syndicate, where the offender's role was at the operational level (collecting and transporting drugs) rather than supervisory. The case provides a comprehensive survey of comparable sentencing decisions across Australian jurisdictions for large-scale drug importation offences. Sentences at the level imposed in Shakhanov v The Queen [2019] VSCA 38 would be manifestly inadequate for comparable offending.
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