Ramsey man jailed for smuggling cannabis has sentence cut

Kenny Garaty was originally sentenced in October last year

A man who had nearly £10,000 worth of cannabis posted to his home has had his prison sentence cut after it was deemed "manifestly excessive" by two judges.

Kenny Garaty, of Parliament Street in Ramsey, was jailed for 21 months after admitting agreeing to have about 1lb 1oz (500g) of the drug sent to him.

The sentence was reduced to 15 months.

Appeal Judge Jeremy Storey QC and Deemster Alistair Montgomerie said there had been an "error in law" and the original sentence was "excessive".

A separate 15-month term, which Garaty was serving concurrently for supplying cannabis, remains unchanged.

Douglas Courthouse heard the 33-year-old was arrested on 2 May last year after a parcel addressed to him was intercepted at a postal sorting office the previous day.

After initially denying any knowledge of the package, police found evidence he had been expecting a delivery and he admitted that he had agreed to accept it for another person.

• Man who had £10k of cannabis sent to home jailed

In his original sentencing, Deemster Graeme Cook said he hoped the punishment would prove a "deterrent factor" to others amid a "ridiculous increase" in the amount of cannabis being imported to the island.

In their ruling, Judge Storey and Deemster Montgomerie said Deemster Cook was "entitled to uplift" the sentence starting point from 18 months by "no more than three months" as a deterrent.

However, the overall jail term would be reduced once mitigating factors, such as a guilty plea, had been taken into account.