Drugs sentencing review call after rise in cocaine seizures

Judges have called for an urgent review of sentencing guidelines for drug offences after rejecting the appeals of two drug dealers and warning there had been a 28-fold increase in cocaine seizures in the past decade.

The Isle of Man Court of Appeal heard the island's drugs trade had changed dramatically.

Adrian Larcombe and Liam Bradley, who were convicted in separate cases involving the importation of more than 1.3kg of cocaine, had argued their sentences were excessive.

But the Staff of Government Division rejected this and instead appealed to the Department for Home Affairs to reexamine the legislative framework for sentencing. The BBC has contacted the department for a response.

During the appeal, the court observed that the current sentencing guidelines were developed at a time when concerns centred largely on ecstasy and other drugs commonly sold in tablet form.

Cocaine trafficking is a far more significant issue, it heard, with organised crime groups playing a much greater role in the trade.

In Bradley's case, police seized 635 grams of cocaine with an estimated street value of between £55,000 and £112,000 during an operation focused on drugs arriving via the ferry.

He was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison.

Larcombe was convicted after a trial involving a near-kilogram package of high-purity cocaine hidden inside a mini fridge and shipped to the Isle of Man from England.

He received a sentence of 14 years and six months.

According to the latest figures from the Isle of Man Constabulary, arrests at the Sea Terminal increased by 47.5% within the last year.

The judges used the cases to highlight the need for a review of wider drug sentencing guidelines. They also pointed to emerging concerns over ketamine, suggesting there may be a need to reconsider its classification and sentencing approach in future.

The judges did not suggest that the Isle of Man drug laws were currently lenient.

In many cases, sentences imposed by the Island's courts for large-scale cocaine importation and supply are already among the most severe in the British Isles.

The court's concern was not that offenders were escaping lengthy prison terms, but that the sentencing framework itself was now more than 20 years old and may no longer fully reflect the realities of the modern drugs trade.

As a result, the judges formally referred the issue to the Department of Home Affairs, urging a re-examination of sentencing policy.

The Department for Home Affairs has been asked for a response.

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