27/12/2007 00:00:00
UK: Cannabis Dealer Jailed
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A 33-year-old Gloucester man whose house had been "given over to the
cultivation of cannabis" was jailed today for two years.
Mark Jukes was nurturing 346 plants at his London Road home and
supplying the produce to a dealer who was selling them on, Gloucester
crown court heard.
Prosecutor Julian Kesner said six of the eight rooms in the property had
been given over to growing the Class C drug and 34 six-hundred watt
lights were keeping them well lit.
He said five separate search warrants were executed by police on April
13 - one of them at Mr Jukes' terraced home.
The barrister said that officers found six out of the eight rooms had
been given over to growing the drug. Four of them contained mature
flowering plants and the other two housed seedlings.
After looking at photographs, Judge Martin Picton commented: "Quite a
tidy little operation really."
Mr Kesner said 346 plants were found and if the seedlings had reached
maturity a total of between 12 and 15 kilos of flower based "skunk"
would have been produced with a value of £9,000 to £11,400 accordingly.
He added that the electricity supply at the house indicated full blown
cultivation of the plants during a seven to eight month period between
August 2006 and April this year.
Jukes pleaded guilty at Gloucester Magistrates Court to acquiring
criminal property, producing a Class C drug, possession of Class C with
intent, and supplying a Class C drug.
The case was committed to crown court for sentence.
He had one previous conviction, the court heard - not relevant to this case.
Defending, Anna Midgeley said her client's problems started in 2003 with
his mother's death and when his use of alcohol and cannabis escalated.
"Mr Jukes has had eight months to consider his behaviour and the
seriousness of his problems," she said, adding that it was not an
operation he could have run alone.
When Judge Picton asked if he had ever named the man he was supplying,
he was told he had not.
Miss Midgeley said Jukes had no significant record - his last conviction
being ten years ago and for this offence had pleaded guilty at the
earliest possible opportunity.
She recommended to the judge a suspended sentence.
But Judge Picton said it had to be immediate custody.
He said from August 2006 to April this year, he had been running a
"sophisticated" operation in the form of a cottage industry.
He said he would keep the sentence as short as he could, which would be
two years, of which Jukes will serve half before being released on licence.
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=13091
Author:
Thisisgloucestershire via UKCIA
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