Tran’s cannabis sentence cut to five years and four months

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

The Irish Court of Appeal quashed Tran’s 12-year sentence and resentenced him to five years and four months’ imprisonment, backdated to his initial custody date. The proceedings were reported on 1 February 2021.

Tran pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a controlled drug worth more than €13,000 for sale or supply. He was originally sentenced on 11 July 2019 to 12 years in prison, with the final two years suspended on terms.

On 6 February 2019, officers stopped a vehicle after observing Tran driving at an estimated 160km/h. They found cannabis with an estimated market value of €480,000. The report said he co-operated with the investigation and admitted transporting the drugs on a third party’s instructions for €1,000.

The appeal argued that the original 16-year headline sentence was excessive and that Tran’s early plea, co-operation and lack of previous convictions justified departing from the presumptive minimum sentence. The Court of Appeal found the headline sentence excessive in light of his limited role. It set an eight-year headline sentence and reduced it by one third for mitigation.