A magistrate warned drug traders against taking matters into their own hands as he sentenced two men to jail for a violent knifepoint abduction triggered by a dispute over an unpaid drug debt.
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David Achanfuo Yeboah, 37, and Michael Aaron Le Clair, 29, pleaded guilty to charges of forcible confinement and drug trafficking just before they were set to go on trial in the ACT Supreme Court last year.
The pair were back in court where they faced sentencing for the December 2013 kidnapping before Justice John Burns on Wednesday.
The court heard the abduction was linked to a drug deal where the victim was given about $26,000 to source three kilograms of marijuana, which he planned to source from a dealer known as "Big G".
But the deal didn't go to plan.
The court heard "Big G" had picked up the victim's money in Franklin, but drove off without handing over the drugs.
Le Clair and Yeboah, angered over the lost money, later turned up at the victim's house where Le Clair forced him into a car at knifepoint.
Yeboah, who was the driver, threatened to break the debtor's bones and cut off his fingers during the ordeal, the court heard.
The victim managed to flee the car when it reached Theodore, but was soon recaptured and driven to Captain's Flat.
There the two men are alleged to have tied the man to a pole and beaten him with a baseball bat before abandoning him.
The court previously heard the pair could face further charges in NSW.
In a victim impact statement, the debtor said he had recurrent nightmares, constantly felt "on edge", and had moved interstate because he continued to fear for his safety.
The court heard on Wednesday Le Clair had a traumatic childhood, a history of alcohol abuse and had undergone counselling in recent years to cope with the grief of his father's death in a car crash, and stress linked to the criminal charges.
Yeboah, a father of three, had expressed remorse over his actions and tried to turn his life around after the abduction, the court was told.
In handing down his sentence, Justice Burns said he was satisfied Le Clair and Yeboah were drug traders and said nothing less than immediate terms of imprisonment would be appropriate for their crimes.
"People who engage in the drug trade cannot expect to live in their own subculture where they mete out punishment," Justice Burns said.
He said Le Clair bore greater culpability for the forcible detainment of the victim, given he had been armed with the knife, initiated the man's confinement and made threats against him.
Justice Burns accepted the kidnapping wasn't premeditated, but noted the ordeal lasted several hours, saying while the man did not suffer significant physical injuries the conditions of his abduction caused him to fear for his life.
He sentenced Le Clair to four years and six months in prison, with a non-parole period of 29 months. He will be eligible for release in October 2018.
Yeboah was handed a jail term of three years and 11 months. His two-year non-parole period ends in May 2018.
The men hugged supporters, many of whom were sobbing, before they were led away from the courtroom.
