A man describing himself as the "bottom level errand boy" in a drug supply ring is freshly eligible for parole after convincing a court he should not spend more time in jail than people he took orders from.
Li Wang supplied methylamphetamine and cocaine to an undercover police officer three times in March and April 2015.
The judge who sentenced him said he was "the principal in those supplies," with the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal calling that description "not entirely clear".
"It could only be because Mr Wang was the actual perpetrator of the offence, the person who handed over the drugs and received the payment," Acting Justice Robert Hulme wrote in a judgment published on Wednesday.
The judge did not, however, find Wang was the principal figure in the overall enterprise.
Wang had appealed, arguing the judge erred in characterising his role as more significant than that of his co-offenders Zhengyi Zhang and Si Ji Zhang.
He argued he was "the bottom level errand boy, not the principal".
Justice Hulme said the errand boy description "seriously understates the gravity of his role".
"He played a vital role in the supply of substantial quantities of a pernicious drug for significant financial gain," he wrote.
However, his crimes should not have been regarded as any more serious than his co-offenders, who received more lenient sentences.
The court re-sentenced Wang due to an "erroneous disparity" in his indicative sentence for supplying almost two kilograms of methylamphetamine, and for knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Originally jailed for at least 10 years on a total sentence of 13 years and six months, Wang is now eligible for parole after his sentence was dropped to 11 years with a non-parole period of eight years and three months.
Both sentences date back to Wang's arrest on May 14, 2015, however his new non-parole period expired on August 13.
Justice Hulme said it was apparent Wang had little or no formal legal training when he represented himself on appeal but formulated the issues he raised "with reasonable clarity".
The State Parole Authority has been contacted for comment.
