MEDIA STATEMENT: Mr Jared Brown - CDPP Appeal

On 12 February 2016, Mr Jared Brown was convicted by a Victorian County Court jury of two charges of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug.  The charges related to the importation of 48kg of pure methamphetamine into Australia.  The methamphetamine was concealed in motor vehicle engines, which were imported into Melbourne from California. 

Following a plea hearing on 30 March 2016, Mr Brown was sentenced to a total effective sentence of 12 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 7 years.

Prosecution Appeal – Victorian Court of Appeal

The Commonwealth DPP appealed against the sentence imposed on Mr Brown. That appeal was heard on 18 October 2016.

 On 23 June 2017, the Victorian Court of Appeal delivered judgment in the appeal.  The Court allowed the Director’s appeal and resentenced Mr Brown to a total effective sentence of 20 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 15 years.

The Court said that the original sentence imposed on Mr Brown did not adequately reflect the gravity of his offending and the need to deter others.  The Court said that a clear signal needed to be sent to would-be offenders, motivated by the potential financial rewards of drug importation, that detection will inevitably lead to very lengthy terms of imprisonment. 

In allowing the appeal, the Court said:

In our opinion, the sentence imposed was manifestly inadequate. Parliament has signalled, by fixing a maximum of life imprisonment,that this offence is of the utmost seriousness. Brown’s offending was very serious indeed. It involved the importation of dangerous drugs in huge quantities — totalling almost 65 times the commercial quantity threshold.

Mr Brown will not become eligible for parole until 2030.

CCA Judgement - DPP (Cth) v Brown [2017] VSCA 162 (23 June 2017)