Trafficking in dangerous drugs

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This report is part of the Sentencing Spotlight series. These publications present statistics on sentencing outcomes for offences finalised in Queensland courts.

Our Sentencing Spotlight on trafficking in dangerous drugs, defined under section 5 of the Drugs Misuse Act 1986, provides insight into cases sentenced between July 2005 and June 2016.

Our research found:

• a total of 2596 offenders were sentenced
• of these, 2498 offenders had trafficking in dangerous drugs as their most serious offence (MSO)
• the number of offenders sentenced for trafficking in dangerous drugs as their MSO increased each year from 2009–10
• the average age of offenders sentenced for drug trafficking was 34 years
• the majority of offenders sentenced for drug trafficking were male (83.7%)
• the majority of offenders sentenced for drug trafficking pleaded guilty (97.8%)
• the majority of adult offenders sentenced for drug trafficking received a custodial penalty (99.1%)
• The average prison sentence was 4.6 years
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders made up 5% of all sentenced offenders.

Read the media release

Think sentencing is easy?

Enter the courtroom and hear the facts about a trafficking in a dangerous drug court case that was based on real-life events. Decide the sentence, judge for yourself.