Osei-Ababio [2019] EWCA Crim 380

Following a guilty plea to possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and possession of criminal property the appellant was sentenced to 5 years and 11 months’ and 12 months consecutive respectively.

Complaint was made that the judge was wrong to have found the offending on the cusp between ‘leading’ and ‘significant’ and that it should have been squarely within ‘significant’. Issue was also taken with the sentence for money laundering on the basis that the sentence was consecutive and no reduction was made for totality.

Held: the judge was entitled to look at all the features and to recognise that it contained aspects of both categories, the sentence of 5 years 11 months was entirely proper. As to the money laundering it would have been better had the judge specifically addressed the guideline on totality, but the question is whether the sentence is wrong in principle or manifestly excessive and it was not. The appeal was dismissed.