Man found guilty of dealing in cannabis

Police raid found plants worth up to £350,000

A S t r a t h ave n man was last Friday found guilty of dealing in cannabis with an estimated value of up to £350,000.

A total of 579 cannabis plants were found in Unit 3A of Hamilton Road Industrial Estate in the town, owned by Alastair Ash, on January 29, 2014.

Fo r t y - s e v e n - y e a r- o l d A s h , of Lethame Road, had denied charges of producing the class-B dr ug and being concerned i n i t s supply at t he unit between S e pt e mber 2 0 1 3 a nd Ja nuar y 2014.

However, on the fourth day of proceedings the jury at Hamilton Sheriff Court returned a majority guilty verdict on the charge of being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

They returned a not proven by majority verdict on the charge of producing the drug.

A joint minute lodged with the court stated that officers went to the unit on January 29, 2014, with a search warrant.

Gates there were padlocked and they gained entry by going t h r o u g h a g a p i n t wo f e n c e s surrounding the property. However, the unit door was locked with metal shutters and a heavy duty padlock.

An o f f i c e r c a l l e d As h a f t e r obtaining hi s phone number. Ash had told the officer he did not have access to the unit and had rented it out to Hamilton man Colin Dunsmore.

Entry to the unit was forced at 11am when police found ‘a large purpose-built growing area’ in the main workshop floor.

Footage played t o t he court during the trial showed Detective Constable John Hose touring the unit, pointing out equipment used in the cultivation of cannabis which included plastic piping, ballast boxes, light bulbs and fans.

It also showed a purpose-built s t r u c t u r e made o f wood a n d pl ast i c which s panned t hreequarters of the unit’s ground floor.

This, said DC Hose, would be used for growing cannabis plants.

Upstairs in office accommodation were trays of s mal l c a n na b i s p l a nt s b e i n g grown under fluorescent light.

There were also more mature plants and growing solutions in the kitchen.

Detective constable Kenny Foy of the Police Scotland stock unit had also surveyed the unit that day with DC Hose.

He said the cultivation in the unit was “large scale” and not comparable to that found in a residential home for example.

The structure on the ground floor had been built by someone “very skilled” to “maximise the growing area for plants”.

D C Foy e s t i mat e d t hat t h e cost of setting up the cultivation was between £20,000 to £30,000, not i nc l udi ng t he manpower involved.

Fiscal depute Callum Forsyth pointed out during the trial it was a matter of agreement there were 579 plants in total, and DC Foy accepted DC Hose’s assessment that each plant could fetch b e t ween £ 2 0 0 a nd £ 6 0 0 . The plants were therefore valued at between £115,800 and £347,400.

Ash had t endered a s pecial defence of i ncrimination involving Colin Dunsmore, of Fairhill, Hamilton, who had failed to appear as a witness for court proceedings on the charges earlier this year.

S h e r i f f Ma c Fa d y e n f o u n d Dunsmore guilty on a contempt of court charge last week, and he was admonished and dismissed.

Sheriff MacFadyen deferred sentence on Ash until August 10 for a criminal justice social work report, and consideration of a Crown Proceeds of Crime motion.

Ash’s bai l was re v oked and he was re manded i n c us t ody meantime.