R v Armaan Khan
[2024] EWCA Crim 809
R v Abdullah Mohammed
12 July 2023
[2023] EWCA Crim 1108
Court of Appeal
A man was caught running a big drug operation. Even though he had some old crimes on his record, the judge thought his role in this new drug business was bad enough to give him a 4-year sentence. The court agreed that the sentence was fair.
Key Facts
- •Appellant convicted of two counts of being concerned in supplying Class A drugs.
- •Sentence: 4 years' imprisonment (concurrent).
- •Drugs operation used the "Striker line" advertising via bulk messages.
- •Appellant arrested with two phones matching IMEI numbers used by the Striker line and a SIM card matching the line's number.
- •Appellant had previous convictions for robbery from 2011 (14 months imprisonment).
- •Appellant was a homeless asylum seeker at the time of arrest.
- •No drugs were found on the appellant at the time of arrest.
- •The trial judge categorized the appellant's role as 'lesser' in the drug operation.
Legal Principles
Sentencing guidelines for drug offences.
Drug Offences Guideline
Treatment of previous convictions in sentencing.
Sentencing Guideline relating to drug offences and Overarching Principles
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
While the trial judge erred in considering the appellant's prior robbery convictions as aggravating, the scale of the drug operation was a significantly aggravating factor justifying the 4-year sentence. The time elapsed since the prior convictions and their lack of similarity to the current offence meant their impact on the sentence was likely minimal.