The Court of Criminal Appeal has reduced Perry Wharrie’s 30-year prison sentence for his role in what the court described as the largest cocaine seizure in the history of the State to 17 years and six months.
Wharrie had been convicted after a 41-day Circuit Court trial in Cork of offences under sections 3, 15 and 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. The cocaine consignment was of very high purity, packed in bales and given estimated values ranging from €100 million to €440 million.
An earlier appeal against his convictions had been dismissed. The court subsequently considered his challenge to the 30-year sentence imposed for the section 15A offence and found that the trial judge had erred in principle.
Wharrie had not given evidence at trial. Two co-accused who did testify had their evidence treated as an aggravating feature. The trial judge recognised that Wharrie’s decision not to tender false evidence was potentially mitigating but treated that benefit as cancelled out by his serious criminal record.
The appeal court held that this effectively punished him twice for his previous convictions. Those convictions, which included murder, robbery and firearms offences in Britain, could properly increase the headline sentence, but should not remove an otherwise applicable mitigating deduction.
The court found that Wharrie was not shown to be a principal organiser or ultimate beneficiary of the cocaine operation. However, he played a significant role in organising and conducting transport of the drugs and was described as an important and essential part of the operation.
The judges also considered his conduct in prison, including extensive educational and cultural activity, his artistic work and the practical difficulty of family visits while serving a long sentence in Ireland despite having no family connection here.
A headline sentence of 22 years and six months was selected, with five years deducted for mitigation, producing a final sentence of 17 years and six months from the date Wharrie originally went into custody on the charges.