R v Hilton Mhasvi & Ors

In sentencing for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, the seriousness of the proceedings obstructed may inform the applicable guideline category. It must not, however, be counted again as a separate aggravating feature. A sophisticated plan conducted from custody, use of illicit communications, recruitment of others and substantial benefit from the conspiracy may properly place offending high within the range.

Credit for a guilty plea must reflect the defendant’s actual circumstances. Where pressure from co-defendants in shared custody made an earlier plea difficult, a greater reduction was appropriate. Consecutive sentences for ancillary offending must also satisfy totality and remain proportionate to the role, purpose and quantity involved.

The applicants and appellants were convicted, or pleaded guilty, at the Crown Court at Preston to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. The conspiracy arranged for key witnesses in a serious criminal trial to leave the United Kingdom in exchange for payment, thereby preventing their attendance at trial.

Hilton Mhasvi was sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment for the conspiracy and a concurrent term for a communications offence. Raihan Miah, who pleaded guilty, received 66 months’ imprisonment. Nabid Uddin received a total of 54 months’ imprisonment for the conspiracy and related offences, including possession with intent to supply nitrous oxide and failure to comply with a notice under section 49 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

The court considered whether the respective sentences were manifestly excessive.

1. Mhasvi’s renewed application for leave to appeal was refused. The sentencing judge correctly placed the conspiracy in category A1, with a starting point of four years’ custody and a range of two to seven years. The seriousness of the original charges had already informed that categorisation. The judge did not impermissibly double count it by treating it again as an aggravating feature.

   The sentence towards the top of the range was justified by Mhasvi’s leading role in a sophisticated and sustained prison-based plot, his use of illicit telephones, his recruitment of others, and his position as a principal beneficiary. The judge had also addressed the relevant personal mitigation. Mhasvi’s mental-health difficulties did not materially reduce culpability because the offending was planned over a lengthy period.

2. Miah’s appeal was allowed. Although he was a principal beneficiary of the conspiracy, his role was materially less than Mhasvi’s. He did not instigate or lead its co-ordination, participated for a shorter period and faced sentence for no additional offences. His personal mitigation and the time spent in custody on the original charges required further weight.

   A post-trial sentence of five years was appropriate. The proper reduction for Miah’s guilty plea was 20 per cent, rather than 15 per cent, because the conditions of shared custody with co-defendants created real pressure that reasonably impeded an earlier plea. His sentence was substituted with four years’ imprisonment.

3. Uddin’s appeal was allowed. The judge correctly reduced sentence to reflect Uddin’s lesser and shorter role, while increasing it for use of an illicit prison telephone. The resulting adjustment was insufficient. The proper sentence for the conspiracy was three years’ imprisonment.

   The consecutive terms for social supply of a modest quantity of nitrous oxide and failure to disclose the telephone PIN were excessive when assessed with the conspiracy sentence. The court substituted six months’ consecutive imprisonment for the psychoactive-substance offence and three months’ concurrent imprisonment for the PIN offence. The total sentence was therefore reduced from 54 months to 42 months’ imprisonment.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): In [2024] EWCA Crim 1638, Mhasvi’s renewed application for leave to appeal against sentence was refused. Miah’s appeal was allowed and his sentence reduced to four years. Uddin’s appeal was allowed and his total sentence reduced to 42 months.
• Crown Court at Preston: Mhasvi and Uddin were convicted on 24 November 2023; Miah pleaded guilty on 19 September 2023. Mhasvi received 78 months’ imprisonment for the conspiracy. Miah received 66 months. Uddin received a total of 54 months.