“Drug runners and small–scale dealers could escape prison even if caught with a 50–gram bag of cocaine or heroin or dozens of Ecstasy pills, under planned new guidance for courts.”
Daily Telegraph, 28th March 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
from the Inner Temple Library
“Drug runners and small–scale dealers could escape prison even if caught with a 50–gram bag of cocaine or heroin or dozens of Ecstasy pills, under planned new guidance for courts.”
Daily Telegraph, 28th March 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Today, the Sentencing Council is launching a three-month public consultation on its proposals to introduce a new guideline for judges and magistrates for the sentencing of drugs offenders.”
Sentencing Council, 28th March 2011
Source: www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk
“A university worker was jailed today for planning to flood the market with fake sex-enhancing drugs.”
The Independent, 24th February 2011
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Four men found at a large cannabis factory in Essex have been jailed.”
BBC News, 4th February 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Following the sentencing at Reading Crown Court, Andrew Penhale, Unit Head of the Crown Prosecution Service Organised Crime Division in the North said: ‘The significance of this prosecution is that it involves a defendant running an apparently legitimate, internet-based chemical business, which actually facilitated the wholesale trafficking of Class A drugs and the sale of other illegitimate chemicals.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 10th December 2010
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
“Two men have been jailed after a haul of drugs worth £2.6m was discovered in a house in Bedford.”
BBC News, 24th November 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Two men have been jailed for 13 years and four months each after they admitted possession of heroin with an estimated street value of £3.5m.”
BBC News, 12th November 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Salim Razaq, 31, became a ‘mob boss in police uniform’ after taking charge of a drug and money-laundering racket when his younger brother, Hafiz, was jailed for kidnapping a rival gang member during a brutal turf war.”
Daily Telegraph, 5th November 2010
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Black people are six times more likely to be arrested than white people for drug offences and 11 times more likely to be imprisoned, according to new research claiming to show the racial bias of the criminal justice system.”
The Guardian, 31st October 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Email incorrectly said EU law allowed certain people to bring small quantities of cannabis into UK for personal use.”
The Guardian, 29th October 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A jailed drug dealer was stripped of more than half a million pounds of assets today – including his house, yacht and three flats.”
The Independent, 15th October 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“A corrupt police officer who conspired with a drug dealer had his three-year jail sentence doubled at the Court of Appeal today.”
The Independent, 21st September 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“A cocaine dealer owed thousands of pounds by clients has been sent to prison for four years.”
BBC News, 16th September 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A corrupt policeman who sold stolen police uniforms and offered tips on how to foil detectives was jailed for seven years today for drug dealing and helping to plot a robbery at a jewellery store.”
The Guardian, 16th August 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Naphyrone (often called ‘NRG1’) and its related compounds will become Class B drugs from Friday July 23, 2010.”
Home Office, 22nd July 2010
Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk
“Recovering heroin users jailed for child cruelty after using drug to soothe infant in the six months up to her death.”
The Guardian, 15th July 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Four men have been jailed for their part in a drugs network which police said allowed them to live a life of luxury hotels and fast cars.”
BBC News, 14th July 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Naphyrone – often advertised as ‘NRG1’ – and its related compounds are to be banned and made Class B drugs, Minister for Crime Prevention James Brokenshire announced today.”
Home Office, 12th July 2010
Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk
“The legal high naphyrone will be made a Class B drug and banned, the Government said today.”
The Independent, 12th July 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“A crown court judge today described the News of the World’s story about the father of England footballer John Terry selling cocaine as a ‘very, very clear case of entrapment’.”
The Guardian, 1st June 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A disabled former rock drummer walked free from court today after being convicted of growing cannabis which he took to treat a medical condition.”
The Independent, 26th May 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“A former care home manager who stole drugs from residents to feed her own addiction has been jailed for 10 years for killing an elderly woman.”
BBC News, 21st May 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A struck-off doctor was jailed for selling slimming pills to patients across the country, police said. Sudesh Madan, 57, of Homeway, Romford, Essex, was given an 18-month prison sentence at St Albans Crown Court yesterday after previously admitting four counts of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug and four counts of supplying a controlled drug. She also asked for eight other offences to be taken into consideration. ”
The Independent, 12th May 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“A ban on mephedrone and other so-called ‘legal highs’ was backed by the Lords today amid accusations ministers were guilty of a ‘knee-jerk’ response.”
The Independent, 8th April 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Former care home manager Rachel Baker was today found not guilty of murdering two of her elderly residents. Baker, 44, was accused of murdering Frances Hay and Lucy Cox at Parkfields Residential Care Home in Butleigh, Somerset. She was cleared of the murder charges and an attempted murder charge involving Mrs Hay by a jury at Bristol Crown Court today.”
The Independent, 8th April 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“A jury will resume its deliberations today in the trial of a former care home manager accused of murdering two elderly residents.”
The Independent, 7th April 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“A convicted drug dealer was awarded £880 compensation by a European court which ruled her human rights were breached by a British judge.”
The Independent, 2nd April 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Websites close down as Lib Dem MPs say decision could jeopardise future prosecutions of dealers.”
The Guardian, 30th March 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Mephedrone and its related compounds are to be banned and made Class B drugs following recommendations from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), the Home Secretary Alan Johnson announced today.”
Home Office, 30th March 2010
Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk
“Why are we asking this now?
Two teenagers from Scunthorpe, Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, died on Monday, apparently after taking mephedrone. Police are investigating whether they were taking other drugs. Their deaths have focused attention on the perils of so called ‘legal highs’, chemical and herbal preparations sold on the high street and over the web which are claimed to have effects similar to illegal drugs of abuse but have not been specifically banned.”
The Independent, 18th March 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“A former police officer has been jailed for three years for passing secret information to his wife and her drug dealer, in return for drugs and money.”
BBC News, 12th March 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
R v Hussain (Shabbir) [2010] WLR (D) 22
“A possessor of drugs did not commit an offence contrary to ss 4(1) and 5(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 if he intended to supply the drugs outside the jurisdiction.”
WLR Daily, 3rd February 2010
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Musician Pete Doherty has been fined for taking 13 wraps of heroin to court in his coat pocket.”
BBC News, 27th January 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The leaders of a gang which ran a multi-million pound cannabis operation in Nottinghamshire have been sentenced.”
BBC News, 26th January 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A multi-millionaire rabbi who took part in cocaine parties with prostitutes in a flat nicknamed the ‘synagogue of sin’ has been convicted of possessing drugs.”
Daily Telegraph, 25th November 2009
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“A 37-year-old man from Kent who was the ringleader of an international crime gang smuggling illegal drugs into the UK has been jailed for nine years.”
BBC News, 15th October 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Lawyers warn that Akmal Shaikh, 53, who has delusional psychosis, could be shot dead in jail after reports that his second appeal has failed.”
The Guardian, 11th October 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Nicholas Hewitt Birtles, son of former Labour health minister, is given £350 worth of penalties after London arrest.”
The Guardian, 30th September 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A government campaign to tackle ‘legal highs’ has been described as ‘wholly inadequate’ by a victim’s family.”
BBC News, 21st September 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A former boyfriend of Charlotte Church was sentenced to 12 years in prison today after a police raid at a house uncovered heroin with a street value of almost £10 million.”
The Independent, 10th September 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“A Vietnamese man has been jailed for 38 months for helping to convert five properties in Gloucestershire into cannabis ‘factories’.”
BBC News, 7th September 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Several chemicals used on herbal smoking products and other so called ‘legal highs’, will be banned by the end of the year.”
Home Office, 25th August 2009
Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk
“Two so-called ‘party’ drugs and a man-made cannabis substitute will be banned by the end of the year, the Home Office has announced.”
BBC News, 25th August 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A drugs charity director is suing British Transport Police after he was wrongly targeted by sniffer dogs at an Underground station.”
Daily Telegraph, 4th August 2009
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The battle against drugs is not winnable in the near future, a survey of police and other law enforcement agents showed today.”
The Independent, 30th July 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Eight men have been sentenced for a drugs conspiracy that saw millions of pounds of heroin imported into the UK.”
BBC News, 16th July 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A Nigerian man who tried to smuggle cocaine into the West Midlands has been jailed for six years at Manchester Crown Court.”
UK Border Agency, 6th July 2009
“A lorry driver has been jailed for eight years for attempting to smuggle 34kg of heroin and 7kg of cocaine into the United Kingdom.”
UK Border Agency, 24th June 2009
Source: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
“Ten men convicted of attempting to smuggle 12.5 tonnes of cannabis resin worth £36 million into Britain stashed in a rusty tugboat were jailed today.”
The Independent, 4th June 2009
Source: www.independent.co,uk
“The home secretary, Jacqui Smith, is to ban two ‘legal highs’ and a range of anabolic steroids in preparation for the London 2012 Olympics.”
The Guardian, 21st May 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Jacqui Smith, The Home Secretary, is to finally move to ban the legal party drug GBL that killed Hester Stewart, a promising medical student, almost a year after her chief drugs advisor told her to.”
Daily Telegraph, 19th May 2009
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Two men from Crawley have been jailed for supplying ecstasy at a party in West Sussex which killed a teenager.”
BBC News, 11th May 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The government is considering outlawing a range of legal drugs that apparently mimic the effects of substances such as ecstasy and cannabis.”
The Guardian, 26th April 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“On Wednesday 22 April the Sentencing Advisory Panel published a consultation paper relating to the sentencing of the most commonly committed drug offences.”
Consultation paper on sentencing of drug offences (PDF)
Press Notice (PDF)
Drugs consultation paper – Annex B (xls)
Sentencing Guidelines Council, 22nd April 2009
Source: www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk