Two men who were each jailed for 12 years in October last year for their involvement in one of the biggest drugs hauls to be intercepted by police in Europe have had their sentences reduced to eight years by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Michael Howard, Knocktoran, Elton, Co Limerick, and Morgan McGrath, Beansha, Emly, Co Tipperary, pleaded guilty at Monaghan Circuit Court to charges of conspiring to import drugs with an estimated street value of €22.5 million on August 1st-31st, 2002.
The charges under the Misuse of Drugs Act related to an attempt to import 591,180 ecstasy tablets; 602,000 temazepam tablets; 132kg of an amphetamine commonly known as speed; 48kg of heroin and 198kg of cannabis resin.
Giving the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal on the men's appeals yesterday, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns said counsel in the case had now clarified for the court that the appropriate maximum sentence for the actual importation of controlled drugs was now agreed to be a maximum term of 14 years.
Prosecuting counsel in the hearing had accepted that, by reference to legal principles, it would be inappropriate, where there was a charge of conspiracy and where there was a plea to that charge, that up to a life sentence could be imposed.
Counsel had accepted in those particular circumstances that it would be inappropriate to impose any greater sentence on the conspiracy offence than the maximum sentence that is provided for the importation of drugs.
There had been a difficulty at the Circuit Court hearing when the trial judge at sentencing was not given the assistance he needed.
Instead he was in a general way referred to the Criminal Justice Act 1999 and the fact that the relevant section provided for a sentence of up to life and a minimum sentence of 10 years.
The appeal court was satisfied there had been an error of principle during the Circuit Court hearing where the trial judge was approaching sentencing on the basis that effectively the scenario was a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life when the particular charge in front of him meant the maximum sentence could only be 14 years.
There had also been extenuating and mitigating factors.
Mr Justice Kearns said the Court of Criminal Appeal would quash the original sentences.
Taking into account the many testimonials; the fact that the trial judge had agreed that this had been a case where significant discount in sentencing should apply; that there had been a plea at an early stage; that neither man had any previous convictions and had been of good character; that both men were in the lower ranks of this enterprise, as well as their difficult financial circumstances, the court would reduce the sentences of each man down to eight years.
This was an appalling matter for the two men to have got involved in, the judge added, having regard to the hardship and serious suffering that the importation of this quantity of drugs would have caused had it been successful.