House blaze revealed cannabis factory on 'industrial' scale
FIREFIGHTERS called to a house blaze discovered a sophisticated cannabis factory capable of producing “industrial quantities” of the drug.
FIREFIGHTERS called to a house blaze discovered a sophisticated cannabis factory capable of producing “industrial quantities” of the drug.
There were a total of 98 plants in two growing zones, complete with with hydroponics, lighting and ventilation.
The factory was capable of generating a potential yield with a street value of £27,000, Mold Crown Court heard.
It was normal to have three growing cycles a year which meant that cannabis with a potential street value of some £73,000 could be produced in a 12-month period.
It turned out the fire at the house at London Road, Trelawnyd, in January, had been started by an electrical fault after the electricity meter had been bypassed.
A few days later Ian Anderson, 24, handed himself in at St Anne’s Police Station in Liverpool, David Mainstone, prosecuting, said.
Anderson was jailed for 16 months after he admitted being involved in the cultivation of cannabis and abstracting electricity.
The court heard Anderson had built up a £5,000 drugs debt and it was claimed he came under pressure to look after the plants for others as a way of paying off that debt.
Judge Niclas Parry said it had all the hallmarks of a professional set up and while he was a gardener, caring for the plants, and not the organiser, it was an important role.
It was a sophisticated growing unit capable of industrial quantities of cannabis valued at between £27,000 and nearly £80,000.
The unlawful abstraction of electricity always ran a risk of damage. “Here, we have a serious fire caused by abstraction. Serious damage was caused,” Judge Parry explained.
Anderson was only a gardener looking after the plants but he was aware of the scale of the operation and had an expectation that a £5,000 debt would be paid off.
“Offences of this kind are far too prevalent in North Wales. Sentences must involve an element of deterrent to others,” the judge said.
The alarm was raised by a neighbour at 2am on a morning in January last year.
The neighbour was woken by smoke in his home and he saw smoke coming from the roof of the next door property.
“The fire service attended and there was a very strong smell of cannabis,” said Mr Mainstone.
A hydroponics system had been set up, 98 plants were found in two growing zones and each was more than four feet tall.
Laura Tipping, defending, said Anderson, of Lee Vale, Gateacre, Liverpool had been using cannabis long term, ran up a cannabis and gambling debt, and it was suggested to him that one way to pay it off was to care for the cannabis plants.
He had no influence on those above him in the chain.
Anderson voluntarily handed himself in, had admitted what he had done and had made efforts to reduce his cannabis intake.
He would benefit from assistance from the professional agencies, she said, and suggested a suspended prison sentence
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Soft Secrets
