A man convicted of trafficking more than $200,000 worth of crystalline methylamphetamine into Launceston is appealing his six-year jail sentence, arguing that his time in protective custody is making his prison experience more onerous.
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Shadi Farhat, 40, was sentenced alongside co-accused Mickheal Bechara, 39, in June.
The pair’s criminal dealings were identified by police in 2013, as part of a drug trafficking investigation.
Arrested at Launceston Airport in September of that year, Farhat and Bechara were found to be in possession of unregistered firearms, as well as roughly $152,000 cash.
Farhat was said to have provided information to Tasmania Police after he had been arrested.
He was also a registered informant with the New South Wales Police Force.
It was for this reason that Farhat was placed in protective custody at Risdon Prison.
During Farhat and Bechara’s trial, the Launceston Supreme Court heard that the latter exported crystalline methylamphetamine, commonly known as ‘ice’, from New South Wales to Tasmania, travelling regularly to the state with Farhat to sell the drugs to a contact in Launceston.
Bechara was eventually sentenced to six-and-a-half years in jail, with a non-parole period of three years and nine months.
Farhat was sentenced to six years in jail, with a non-parole period of three years.
Bechara’s sentence was longer due to his greater involvement in the crimes.
Now Farhat’s counsel is arguing that the disparity between his and Bechara’s sentences was not great enough.
“Mr Farhat’s at risk,” his counsel said.
“By providing information, he jeopardised his own safety.”
The court heard that Farhat had given information to the New South Wales Police Force’s Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad.
However, Crown prosecutor John Ransom said Farhat was “far from a shrinking violet” and that his sentence was not “harsh or plainly unjust”.