School dinner lady who ran cannabis 'factory' told to pay £120,000
Karen McCann appearing at court in September
Karen McCann appearing at court in September
A former school dinner lady who turned her home into a ‘cannabis factory’ has been ordered to give up £120,000 of her ill-gotten gains.
Police have obtained a court order under the Proceeds of Crime Act to claim some of the cash Karen McCann earned by growing the drug in her Leicester home.
She is currently serving a prison sentence for offences including cannabis cultivation and money laundering.
If the 59-year-old fails to pay within six months, the three years and four months sentence will be extended by two years.
Police raided McCann’s house in Chettle Road, New Parks, in March this year and found 66 cannabis plants growing in a bedroom and in the loft.
Leicester Crown Court heard the plants could yield 3.3kg per crop, with a street value in excess £37,680 – with four harvests annually.
Officers also discovered £18,448 in cash in her bedroom, while her bank accounts revealed deposits of about £129,000 had been made since 2008.
Earlier this week a judge at Leicester Crown Court decided the ‘financial benefit’ to McCann was approximately £340,000.
However, the hearing established that only £119, 892 was left.
McCann was said to have lived a lavish lifestyle on the proceeds of her drugs crime, including an £8,000 holiday in Spain.
Mick Penfold, who made the application to the court on behalf of Leicestershire Police’s economic crime unit, said: “Seizing assets from criminals is one of the ways that we ensure crime doesn’t pay.
“Thanks to this order, Karen McCann won’t have a nest-egg from years of drug production when she comes out of prison.
“The cash will be split between Leicestershire Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Court Service and the Home Office, and will help fund other crime-fighting work.”
McCann was a dinner lady at Merrydale Junior, in Claydon Road, near Uppingham Road, Leicester, for 18 years.
After a previous drugs conviction in 2007 conviction she went back to work at the same school as a cleaner.
She appeared at Leicester Crown Court in September and was jailed after she admitted cannabis cultivation, possessing £18,448 of criminal cash and money laundering.
She also admitted bypassing the electricity meter to power her growing operation for free, instead of the thousands of pounds it would have cost.
The hearing in September was told that McCann claimed a former partner, who lived elsewhere, had “emotionally manipulated” her into setting up the illegal growing operation.
However, Judge Simon Hammond said: “I believe this defendant went into this with her eyes open.
“Cannabis farms and factories are very prevalent and provide huge profits.
“In one year alone, 47 cannabis factories were discovered in Leicester and these systems produce skunk.
“Skunk can cause serious mental health problems and is much stronger than cannabis that used to be imported from Morocco and other countries.”
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