Court of Appeal judges tighten legal high laws

Saturday 24th September 2011, 2:30PM BST.

Rob Prow A LANDMARK ruling by the Court of Appeal has overturned a verdict that critics argue could have severely cut Guernsey’s power to stop the import of new drugs or legal highs.

The Law Officers challenged a decision to acquit a man accused of bringing in commercial quantities of mephedrone after the Magistrate’s Court ruled that Robert Le Billon could not have reasonably been expected to know it was illegal at the time.

An appeal to the Royal Court was dismissed, but the Law Officers took the challenge to the Court of Appeal.

Guernsey Border Agency chief officer Rob Prow (pictured) said the decision supported the current regime.