Ba Nguyen and Ha Nguyen have balance of cannabis sentences suspended

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Court of Appeal quashed the original sentences imposed on Ba Nguyen and Ha Nguyen on 4 December 2014, substituted three-year prison sentences and unconditionally suspended the remaining balance for each.

Both pleaded guilty at Trim Circuit Court on 7 June 2013 to cultivating cannabis contrary to section 17 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977.

They originally received six-year prison sentences, with the final two years suspended on condition that each keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years following release.

The sentencing judge identified the elaborate cultivation system, the drugs’ potential street value and the harmful effect of drugs on society as aggravating factors. Mitigation included both appellants’ vulnerability, trafficking into the jurisdiction and control by unidentified third parties, their employment conditions, early pleas, cooperation with gardaí and remorse.

It was accepted that Ba Nguyen was at the organisation’s lowest level, had effectively been trafficked as an economic migrant and might be described as a prisoner where he was arrested. Ha Nguyen was unlikely to have made significant money and might have been moved to another operation after harvesting. Her lack of English and familiarity with the area meant she effectively had nowhere to go.

Both appellants argued that the sentencing judge had wrongly placed the offences in the higher range. The DPP submitted that they probably fell at the lower end of the mid-range. The appeal court held that the higher-range finding was an error in principle.

Sheehan J said three years was appropriate in light of the appellants’ impoverished circumstances when the offences were committed and their personal circumstances. The mitigating factors justified unconditionally suspending the balance.