Dead body joke led police to find man’s cannabis stash

POLICE were called to a domestic disturbance, only to a find a single man living alone.

But when he joked to them there was not a dead body in the house, in Avenue Road Extension, Clarendon Park, Leicester, they took that as a reason to search the property - and found his large stash of cannabis.

Structural engineer David Miller, 43, told the officers the 211g of cannabis - with a street value of up to £1,600 - was all for his own consumption.

He said he bought in bulk because he did not like to go out regularly to buy from dealers.

That was accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service and a charge of possession with intent to supply was dropped. At Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Friday he admitted the lesser charge of possessing class B drugs for his own use.

The court heard the police had received the call about a disturbance on September 9.

Richard Holt, prosecuting, told the magistrates: “He made a glib comment, saying ‘You won’t find a body here.’

“They found 211g of cannabis in a first floor bedroom.

“He was arrested and interviewed and said he had been using cannabis for 30 years and smoked it every day. He said he had paid £700 for the cannabis and bought in bulk because it was easier.”

Abigail Wright, representing Miller, said her client was “extremely remorseful”.

She said: “There was no domestic disturbance – Mr Miller is single and lives alone.

“He made the comment trying to make light of the police being there.

“He said he uses cannabis to relax and unwind, like some people have a few glasses of wine. “Unfortunately, cannabis is illegal. “He bought the cannabis in bulk with the expectation of it lasting seven months. The police officers commented on the poor quality of the cannabis and the poor storage.

“He was buying in bulk because he didn’t want to be going out buying cannabis from street dealers. He’s not that kind of person.”

She said the police would normally deal with cannabis possession with a caution but could not because of the large amount of the drug found.

Miller was fined £469 and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £188 victim surcharge.

DRUGS WORTH £1,600 FOUND AT CITY HOME