Key Facts
- •Leonard Andrew Delapehna (appellant) convicted of fraudulent evasion of a prohibition (s. 170(2) Customs and Excise Management Act 1979).
- •Appellant stopped at Gatwick Airport with 3.99kg of cocaine (70% purity).
- •Appellant had 15 previous convictions (mostly from youth/early adulthood), including 3 for possession of Class B drugs.
- •Sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment.
- •Appellant appealed against sentence due to the excessive sentence and insufficient weight given to mitigating circumstances.
- •Appellant's age (61), ill health (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, severe emphysema), and a three-year delay in proceedings were mitigating factors.
Legal Principles
Sentencing guidelines for drug trafficking offences under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 and Sentencing Act 2020.
Sentencing Guidelines; R v Boakye [2013] 1 Cr App R(S) 2
Adjusting starting points within sentencing guidelines is an evaluative judgment, not a rigid mathematical exercise.
R v Boakye [2013] 1 Cr App R(S) 2 (as interpreted by the court)
Mitigating circumstances, such as age and ill health, must be considered when determining an appropriate sentence.
Implicit in the judgment; general sentencing principles.
Outcomes
Appeal allowed in part.
The 10-year sentence was manifestly excessive due to an overestimation of the starting point and insufficient consideration of mitigating circumstances.
10-year sentence quashed.
The court considered a starting point of 9 years appropriate, further reduced to 8 years to account for mitigating factors (age, health, delay).
8-year sentence substituted.
Reflects the seriousness of the offense while acknowledging the appellant's mitigating circumstances.