Suspended jail sentence for self-confessed cannabis grower in Rainworth
An Ollerton man has been sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court after he was found to be using his home as a cannabis farm.
More than 200 cannabis plants were discovered growing in three different rooms of the house on Southwell Road East, in Rainworth, when police carried out a warrant on March 19, last year.
The alarm was raised after the landlord was refused entry to the house and had smelt cannabis.
Once inside, officers also discovered that the electricity meter had been illegally bypassed.
All of the illicit drugs were then seized and destroyed by the police.
Dean Hobson, 43, of Back Lane, Ollerton, pleaded guilty to the production of a class B drug and abstracting electricity at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on January 7.
He appeared before Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday and received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Inspector Kylie Davies, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “It is a common misconception that cannabis production is a victimless crime that doesn’t harm anybody.
“This actually couldn’t be further from the truth, as this serious offence is often linked to wider criminality and can also pose a danger to other people in the surrounding neighbourhood.
“As indicated in this case, it is typical for these types of cannabis grows to involve dangerous modifications to wiring and for electricity to be bypassed, which is a huge fire risk to people in the house and other homes nearby.
“Removing this type of behaviour from our communities is a key priority for the force, so we will continue to act on intelligence about cannabis grows and relentlessly pursue those who are behind the growing of cannabis.”