Aggravation of sentence for recidivism in narcotics import offenses and non-expungability under §§ 40, 42 KCanG

The Federal Court of Justice (5th Criminal Senate) dismissed the defendant's appeal as unfounded, upholding the Hamburg District Court's conviction and sentencing judgment of June 21, 2024, with the defendant bearing the costs of the legal remedy. The case involved a criminal prosecution where the defendant challenged the sentencing rationale, specifically the aggravating consideration of prior convictions under the Federal Narcotics Control Act (KCanG). The appellate court ruled that the lower court correctly applied the law by treating the prior convictions as an aggravating factor demonstrating that the warning effect of previous penalties had failed, and explicitly determined that the prior convictions were not subject to expungement under §§ 40 or 42 KCanG because they pertained to trade and import offenses, which are excluded from the statutory expungement provisions.