Man with £70,000 cannabis farm claimed it was for his own use

A man who ran a massive cannabis farm in his flat then claimed he planned to smoke the £70,000 crop himself has been jailed for 18 months.

Lewis Maxwell’s cultivation was discovered when a debt collector forced open his door to enforce an unpaid gas bill.

He found an extensive and “sophisticated” cannabis plantation inside the flat in Montrose Street, Brechin.

Depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson told Dundee Sheriff Court that a total of 133 plants and associated paraphernalia were found in a room between the flat’s kitchen and bedroom.

Miss Robertson said: “The flat had been rented out by another male.

“He and the accused went to Brechin Police Office and the accused told them ‘I’m here to hand myself in for the grow on Montrose Street, its mine’.

“He claimed even though he was unemployed and not in receipt of benefits he had used money he saved from previous employment to pay both tenancies and the cultivation equipment.

“He claimed the cannabis plants were all for his own personal use and he used cannabis to help him sleep.”

The fiscal told the court forensic officers were of the view that the plants would yield between one and three ounces each, with a total value of between £23,940 and £71,820.

Maxwell, 27, a prisoner at HMP Perth, pleaded guilty on indictment to producing cannabis between October 24 2014 and April 24 2015 at an address in Montrose Street, Brechin.

He further admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis between the same dates and failing to turn up at court at an earlier hearing.