Teesdale drug dealer sentenced over cannabis bust

A DRUG dealer who was caught growing more than 100 cannabis plants at his Teesdale home has been jailed.

Ryan Armstrong, 28, was busted when police raided his rental property on Bannockburn-Shelford Rd last year.

The County Court heard the raid netted 130 plants, weighing a combined 10.25kg, along with a further 745g of loose cannabis Armstrong was preparing to sell.

Armstrong (pictured) was sentenced last week to two years and seven months in prison, with a non-parole period of 16 months.

The court was told Armstrong had a hydroponic setup in his shed when investigators searched his home on the morning of July 8, 2020.

The cannabis plants were seized from grow tents, while an analysis of Armstrong’s phone revealed a “tick list” related to sales of the drug.

Armstrong, who was working as a handyman at the time, made admissions to growing the cannabis for several months and said it was his second crop.

Judge Michael Tinney said the father of five’s offending involved serious criminal conduct.

“It was committed by a mature adult, not by some silly teenager,” he said.

“It must’ve involved significant enough planning and effort.

“You’ve made a very poor decision, but that’s what it was; it was a choice, and a choice that you made.”

The court heard Armstrong had two prior convictions for trafficking drugs and had been sentenced to jail terms and community correction orders in the past.

Judge Tinney said the previous sentences had failed to deter Armstrong from committing similar crimes.

“You’ve been given chances by the courts and you just haven’t taken them,” he said.

“Yet again you have chosen to traffic in drugs. You are a slow learner in that regard.”

Armstrong had pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis.