R v Vadati CA256/05

The Court of Appeal of New Zealand heard an appeal against sentence in the case of R v Vadati CA256/05. The appellant, Saeid Vadati, had been sentenced to seven years and six months imprisonment by Ellen France J for importing a controlled substance, methamphetamine, into New Zealand. The appeal was heard on the papers and the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal against sentence, substituting a new sentence of five years and six months imprisonment, with a minimum term of imprisonment of three years. The case involved Vadati's involvement in the importation of 117.4 grams of methamphetamine from Malaysia to New Zealand, which had a street value between $93,000 and $117,000. Vadati pleaded guilty to the charge and there were no previous convictions against him. The Court of Appeal found that the starting point sentence of 11 years was too high and applied the guideline decision of R v Fatu CA415/04 to arrive at an appropriate starting point of eight years. The Court also took into account the error in the police summary regarding the weight and value of the drugs, as well as Vadati's role in the offending. The Court of Appeal reduced the non-parole period to three years to reflect the downwards adjustment in the head sentence.