Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
A garage in a rented cottage was converted into a hidden cannabis growing factory containing 50 plants with a potential yield of £42,000.
The double garage doors were completely blocked off from the inside and the only access to the garage was via a secret trapdoor.
The trapdoor was in the floor of a cupboard in a bedroom which led to steps down to the garage underneath the cottage.
The man who rented Tan y Ffordd Cottage at the village of Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd near Ruthin was jailed for 20 months.
Mold Crown Court was told that Dominic Smith had set up cannabis farm twice before in rented properties.
Smith, 42, now of Aintree Avenue in Doncaster, who was paying £1,000 a month rent for the Llanbedr DC cottage, admitted producing cannabis and possessing dried flowering cannabis heads with intent to supply, together with abstracting electricity.
Damage to the value of £10,000 had been caused to the property.
Judge Niclas Parry said that in 2013 the defendant was growing 160 cannabis plants in a rented property and the following year he grew 44 plants — and had received a 12 month prison term at Sheffield Crown Court.
It was clear that he had led a criminal life-style because he had committed 60 offences over three decades.
He was then found to have been responsible for creating a "significant, sophisticated cannabis growing enterprise" at Llanbedr DC
The flowering heads had a value of some £8,000 and while the potential yield of the plants was put at anything between £14,000 and £42,000, Judge Parry said.
Smith had also effectively stolen about £3,000 worth of electricity by by-passing the meter.
Prosecuting barrister Karl Scholz said the factory was discovered on August 31 last year when police with a drugs warrant searched the cottage.
When officers were led to the garage by Smith the smell of cannabis was "overwhelming", Mr Scholz said.
The entire garage and workshop to the rear were being used to cultivate cannabis in four separate growing areas, each with its own lighting and watering system.
A net carousel was found hanging from the roof which contained herbal cannabis.
When interviewed, Smith claimed the drugs were all for his own use as he was in pain following an injury to his pelvis in a work accident.
But Mr Scholz said a drugs expert had described a claim that he was smoking two ounces a day as "ridiculous".
Defending barrister Simon Killeen said that since his arrest the defendant had made extraordinary changes to his life.
He had left drugs behind and was now a stay at home father so that his partner could run a small business.
The defendant had been great support to his two children, one of whom was autistic, and Mr Killeen asked the court to consider suspending the inevitable prison sentence.
Judge Parry acknowledged Smith had transformed his life since the arrest but said a jail term was unavoidable:
"You will understand that this has to be an immediate custodial sentence."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: A lb42,000 cannabis farm found hidden behind a trapdoor in rented cottage - Daily Post
Author: Elwyn Roberts
Contact: Daily Post: Latest North Wales news, sport, what's on and business
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Website: Daily Post: Latest North Wales news, sport, what's on and business
The double garage doors were completely blocked off from the inside and the only access to the garage was via a secret trapdoor.
The trapdoor was in the floor of a cupboard in a bedroom which led to steps down to the garage underneath the cottage.
The man who rented Tan y Ffordd Cottage at the village of Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd near Ruthin was jailed for 20 months.
Mold Crown Court was told that Dominic Smith had set up cannabis farm twice before in rented properties.
Smith, 42, now of Aintree Avenue in Doncaster, who was paying £1,000 a month rent for the Llanbedr DC cottage, admitted producing cannabis and possessing dried flowering cannabis heads with intent to supply, together with abstracting electricity.
Damage to the value of £10,000 had been caused to the property.
Judge Niclas Parry said that in 2013 the defendant was growing 160 cannabis plants in a rented property and the following year he grew 44 plants — and had received a 12 month prison term at Sheffield Crown Court.
It was clear that he had led a criminal life-style because he had committed 60 offences over three decades.
He was then found to have been responsible for creating a "significant, sophisticated cannabis growing enterprise" at Llanbedr DC
The flowering heads had a value of some £8,000 and while the potential yield of the plants was put at anything between £14,000 and £42,000, Judge Parry said.
Smith had also effectively stolen about £3,000 worth of electricity by by-passing the meter.
Prosecuting barrister Karl Scholz said the factory was discovered on August 31 last year when police with a drugs warrant searched the cottage.
When officers were led to the garage by Smith the smell of cannabis was "overwhelming", Mr Scholz said.
The entire garage and workshop to the rear were being used to cultivate cannabis in four separate growing areas, each with its own lighting and watering system.
A net carousel was found hanging from the roof which contained herbal cannabis.
When interviewed, Smith claimed the drugs were all for his own use as he was in pain following an injury to his pelvis in a work accident.
But Mr Scholz said a drugs expert had described a claim that he was smoking two ounces a day as "ridiculous".
Defending barrister Simon Killeen said that since his arrest the defendant had made extraordinary changes to his life.
He had left drugs behind and was now a stay at home father so that his partner could run a small business.
The defendant had been great support to his two children, one of whom was autistic, and Mr Killeen asked the court to consider suspending the inevitable prison sentence.
Judge Parry acknowledged Smith had transformed his life since the arrest but said a jail term was unavoidable:
"You will understand that this has to be an immediate custodial sentence."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: A lb42,000 cannabis farm found hidden behind a trapdoor in rented cottage - Daily Post
Author: Elwyn Roberts
Contact: Daily Post: Latest North Wales news, sport, what's on and business
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Website: Daily Post: Latest North Wales news, sport, what's on and business