Sentence for import of 29 kilos of khat to Norway

Supreme Court judgment 13 February, HR-2019-218-A, (case no. 18-163008STR-HRET), criminal case, appeal against judgment.

A (Counsel Hallvard Helle) v. The Public Prosecution Authority (Counsel Ingrid Vormeland Salte)

Justices: Matningsdal, Normann, Ringnes, Bergh, Sæbø

The court of appeal had stipulated the sentence for violation of section 231 subsection 1 of the Penal Code to 18 days of imprisonment. The defendant had transported some 29 kilos of khat from Nairobi to Gardermoen. The Supreme Court referred to facts that khat is an addictive substance with serious harmful effects, medically and socially. There was no basis for increasing the upper limit for the use of suspended sentence for importation of khat, which is 20 kilo. The defendant's confession was considered a mitigating circumstance to a certain extent. The defendant's appeal against the Court of Appeal's sentence was dismissed.