R v Josh Ethan Mason & Ors

Where a county-lines drugs operation forcibly exploits vulnerable children and young people as runners, the resulting modern-slavery offending is a serious and distinct element of the criminality. Although there may be overlap with the drug-supply offences, totality requires a significant uplift to reflect the compelled labour, exposure to violence, isolation from support services and risk of entrenched involvement in drug crime.

The overall custodial term, rather than the particular structure of concurrent or consecutive sentences, is the decisive consideration. In assessing seriousness under section 1 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, relevant factors include the victim's childhood, the seriousness of the criminal exploitation, the number of victims and repeated exploitation.

The appellants participated in a Liverpool-to-Oswestry county-lines operation supplying heroin and crack cocaine. Vulnerable children and young people aged 14 to 18 were used as runners and were compelled by fear of violence. James Mason and Josh Mason received concurrent overall sentences of seven and six years respectively. Adam McArdle, the person in overall control of the line, received concurrent sentences of 14 years while already serving a life sentence for a related serious wounding.

McArdle and Josh Mason sought leave to appeal against sentence. The Solicitor-General referred the sentences of both Mason brothers as unduly lenient. The central issue was whether the 12-month uplift applied to the drug sentences adequately reflected the separate gravity of the modern-slavery offending.

1. The court dismissed McArdle's application for leave to appeal and rejected Josh Mason's sentence challenge. McArdle's drug-supply sentences were not subject to the two-thirds release provision in section 244 ZA of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, because they were not specified offences in Parts 1 or 2 of Schedule 15. The applicable two-thirds release provision for his modern-slavery sentences did not affect the period he would remain in custody. The overall 14-year sentence was not manifestly excessive.

2. The judge was entitled to treat Josh Mason as performing a significant operational role. He had made about 30 journeys carrying substantial quantities of drugs and cash, knew the scale of the operation, and knowingly remained involved after learning that minors were being forced into it. There was no unfair disparity with a co-accused whose limited driving role, lack of drug convictions and lack of modern-slavery offending materially differed.

3. The Solicitor-General's reference was allowed. The modern-slavery offences involved more than the statutory aggravating feature of using a child to deliver drugs. The victims were particularly vulnerable, forced to work through fear of serious violence, encouraged into drug use, isolated from welfare services and exposed to a serious risk of long-term entrenchment in criminality. The number and age of the children aggravated the offending.

4. The factors identified in R v Mohammed (Zakaria) [2019] EWCA Crim 1881 for trafficking offences also applied to the section 1 slavery offence. The 12-month uplift did not adequately reflect the separate seriousness of the compelled exploitation. Applying totality, the appropriate overall sentences were 10 years for James Mason and eight years for Josh Mason. The court quashed the drug sentences and substituted those terms, concurrent with the undisturbed sentences for the other counts.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): The court dismissed the sentence challenges by McArdle and Josh Mason. It allowed the Solicitor-General's reference, quashed the drug sentences imposed on James Mason and Josh Mason, and substituted concurrent terms of 10 years and eight years respectively.
• Crown Court at Shrewsbury: His Honour Judge Barrie sentenced the Mason brothers on 7 August 2023 and McArdle on 9 August 2023 for drug-supply and modern-slavery offences.