Pensioner has joint trouble of a different kind after getting busted dealing pot

Arthur Merrick grew and sold cannabis in a bid to pay for his funeral

A wiry-haired old bloke out in the park - Nike T-shirt, tracksuit bottoms, granddad specs - walking a tubby rottweiler that is more rot that weiler...

Why would anyone, especially the police, suspect this guy of dealing weed?

But here's the thing: that is exactly what grandfather-of-13 Arthur Merrick was up to.

The pensioner, looking like butter wouldn't melt on his dentures, was in fact peddling that most pernicious of gateway drugs, cannabis.

It wasn't so he could live in a gangsta's paradise of blinged-up handguns, twerking mistresses, and gangland hand gestures.

He was actually selling pot to pay for his funeral - oh, and some vodka as well.

The sordid details of Merrick's descent into drug dealing were heard at Norwich Crown Court - on Merrick's 72nd birthday.

Judge Nicholas Coleman heard that Merrick was approached in a park by a man who suggested that they could split the profits if Merrick grew plants in his Southwell road flat.

The court reporter did not record the man's identity, or why he chose such a creaky business partner.

Merrick's operation literally grew to include 40 plants, cultivated in a spare room in his flat - away from the inquisitive eyes of his five children and grandchildren.

He told the court he did not push the drug onto children, preferring to sell it to people who wanted to use it for medicinal purposes

The former taxi driver, who described himself as ‘a bit of an alcoholic', said that he wanted money to ‘pay for my funeral before I die because I don't want my kids to be burdened with it'.

Police miraculously saw through Merrick's disguise and arrested him for cultivating and selling a B-class drug. The court heard that Merrick had been co-operative with police and had shown genuine remorse for his actions.

Sentencing Merrick to an 18-month suspended jail sentence, ordering him to do 120 hours unpaid work and pay £250 costs, Judge Coleman said: ‘It was not a particularly sophisticated operation; however it was a calculated act to generate funds.'

http://metro.co.uk/2014/10/05/pensioner-has-joint-trouble-of-a-different-kind-after-getting-busted-dealing-pot-4893129/ 05/10/2014