Swedish smuggler's appeal met by stiff sentence shocker
A 57-year-old Swedish man who recently appealed his conviction for narcotics offences might now wish he had accepted his original sentence.
The district court in Borås in western Sweden originally sentenced the man to three and a half years in prison for serious drug crimes.
However, the court acquitted him of the most serious charge stemming from 18 kilogrammes of amphetamines, which was ordered and delivered by a Polish courier, the Göteborgs-Posten (GP) newspaper reported.
The 57-year-old nevertheless appealed the original conviction, but rather than handing down a lighter sentence, the court of appeal slapped an additional seven and a half years onto the man's sentence.
According to the appeals court, the man was something of a ringleader for the drug smuggling operation, and thus deserved a stiffer penalty.
Having one's sentence lengthened to such an extent up appeal – in this case, nearly tripling the man's prison term to 11 years – is extremely rare within the Swedish judicial system, according to GP.
In addition to a tougher sentence for the 57-year-old, the 39-year-old Polish courier also had his sentenced lengthened from eight to ten years in prison.
The sentence of 50-year-old woman involved in the operation remained unchanged at four years in prison, while the acquittal of a 63-year-old woman was also upheld by the appeals court.
Comments
See Also
The district court in Borås in western Sweden originally sentenced the man to three and a half years in prison for serious drug crimes.
However, the court acquitted him of the most serious charge stemming from 18 kilogrammes of amphetamines, which was ordered and delivered by a Polish courier, the Göteborgs-Posten (GP) newspaper reported.
The 57-year-old nevertheless appealed the original conviction, but rather than handing down a lighter sentence, the court of appeal slapped an additional seven and a half years onto the man's sentence.
According to the appeals court, the man was something of a ringleader for the drug smuggling operation, and thus deserved a stiffer penalty.
Having one's sentence lengthened to such an extent up appeal – in this case, nearly tripling the man's prison term to 11 years – is extremely rare within the Swedish judicial system, according to GP.
In addition to a tougher sentence for the 57-year-old, the 39-year-old Polish courier also had his sentenced lengthened from eight to ten years in prison.
The sentence of 50-year-old woman involved in the operation remained unchanged at four years in prison, while the acquittal of a 63-year-old woman was also upheld by the appeals court.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.