A man who imported methamphetamine into Tasmania and recruited a woman to smuggle it inside her body has failed to have his three-year prison sentence reduced.
Zachary Donald Sherriff was sentenced in April 2025 after pleading guilty to trafficking, drug and firearm charges.
He appealed on the grounds the sentence was manifestly excessive, but the Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed the case on June 25.
The court heard Sherriff, then 25, ran the drug operation between January and June 2024.
It started small before increasing sharply from late April.
He flew to Melbourne several times to buy methamphetamine and brought it back to Tasmania in his luggage. On one occasion, he returned by boat.
When his supply dried up, he directed a woman who owed him a drug debt to travel to Melbourne on his behalf.
She was arrested with him outside Launceston Airport carrying 37 grams of methamphetamine in two bags inside condoms, concealed in her body.
In total, Sherriff bought more than eight ounces of the drug, worth up to $226,000 if sold in small quantities.
Police also found a sawn-off shotgun and ammunition in his bedroom cupboard.
Justice Michael Brett described the trafficking as “an extremely serious example of the crime” when sentencing him.
“Courts will not tolerate such conduct and those minded to act in a similar way must understand that the consequences will be severe,” he continued.
The court accepted Sherriff had a difficult upbringing, became addicted to methamphetamine at 14, had shown signs of rehabilitation and entered an early guilty plea.
But the appeal judges found deterrence and denunciation were the dominant considerations and ruled the sentence was within range.
The appeal succeeded only on a technical point, with three summary offences removed because they were not punishable by jail.
