COURT: You have been found guilty on your own plea of trafficking in 27.19 grammes of “ice” on 25 April last year.
You and another person were stopped and searched and on you were found the drugs as well as a set of electronic scales. When you were cautioned, you told the police that the dangerous drugs were “ice” and that you and another person had intended to sell them to third parties.
I am told today on your behalf that you were trafficking in drugs in order to support your own drug habit. I am also told that you would have used some of the drugs, perhaps 3 grammes, for your own consumption.
You have pleaded guilty to the offence with a timely plea and you are consequently entitled to a one-third discount from the appropriate starting point after trial.
The quantity of the drugs which you had places you in the band between 10 and 70 grammes, which prescribes a period of imprisonment between 7 and 10 years.
The quantity you had suggests a starting point of 7 years 9 months. The discount reduces that to 5 years and 2 months.
The fact that you were trafficking in the drug to support your own habit does not assist you. Whilst in the normal course of events it may well have been appropriate to give you a further discount for the fact that some of these drugs may have been used by you for self-consumption, I note that this offence was committed whilst you were on bail for two other offences; wounding and an offence of possession of dangerous drugs. The fact that you committed this offence whilst on bail is an aggravating feature. That, in my judgment, offsets any reduction you would have been entitled to for the possible self-consumption.
There is nothing in your personal circumstances as they appear in your antecedents statement which entitles you to any further reduction.
I am told you have approximately 2 months left to serve on three other sentences which you are presently serving. I can see no reason why this sentence should not be ordered to be served consecutively to those sentences.
You are to serve 5 years and 2 months’ imprisonment, which sentence is to be served consecutively to the sentences presently being served by you.