Two men who tried to grow cannabis to sell exclusively to Aberdeen’s Polish community have avoided prison after police caught them with £33,000 worth of the drug.
Daniel Jastrzebski, 37, and Cezary Panczyk, 56, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where they admitted being concerned in the production and supply of cannabis.
However, despite plants found growing in several rooms of a house, it was stated by their lawyers that neither man had turned to drug dealing for “financial gain”.
One solicitor described the situation as a “disastrous and catastrophic enterprise” on the part of both men.
Accused were tending to cannabis farm in Aberdeen property
Fiscal depute Rebecca Thompson told the court that in May 2020 police received intelligence that cannabis was being grown within a house on Glenbervie Road in Torry.
A raid of the property was conducted on May 16, with officers noticing a strong smell of cannabis as they approached the building.
There was no answer at the door and upon looking through the letterbox, officers saw a male within the house who hid from view.
Entry was forced and the two accused were found inside.
Ms Thompson said: “Within one downstairs bedroom constables found and seized a cannabis cultivation.
“The cannabis was deemed to be in the drying out stages as some of the cannabis recovered was cannabis bud and some was made up of the bud and the stems still attached.
“Various tents, lighting, and other paraphernalia associated with the growing and harvesting of cannabis was also found.”
More than 2 kilos of cannabis
Another bedroom had also been transformed in a similar fashion, but no actual cannabis plants were found in this room.
Within a third bedroom, various paraphernalia associated with the growing of cannabis was recovered.
In the living room, police found mobile phones, tick lists, seed packets and scales.
The men’s fingerprints were found on the tick lists and Jastrzebski’s DNA was found on a pair of latex gloves in one of the bedrooms.
A total of 2.02 kilos of cannabis was found with a maximum total street value of £33,650.
In the dock, Jastrzebski and Panczyk pleaded guilty to one charge of producing cannabis and a second charge of being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug.
‘He is an amateur’
Jastrzebski’s defence solicitor, Stuart Murray, told the court that his client and his co-accused had “entered into this, not as a commercial venture, but for their own use and the use of others in their community.
“That may seem like it lacks some credibility, but there is no evidence that would suggest that it was for financial benefit.”
Sheriff Ian Wallace pointed out that the pair were found with a tick list.
Mr Murray replied that all the names on the list were Polish, adding: “They were all people from their community.”
Liam McAllister, Panczyk’s defence lawyer, told the court that his client accepted that it was “foolish” to get involved in such an endeavour.
“His knowledge of this enterprise comes from the internet – he is an amateur,” Mr McAllister said, adding: “But he was not producing it to sell it on the street.
“It has been a disastrous and catastrophic decision by Mr Panczyk to get involved in this.”
Sheriff Wallace pointed out to the two men that, due to the extent of the operation and the drugs recovered, a prison sentence would often be imposed.
“You are right against that,” he said, adding: “This was supply of a restricted nature and not a wide-ranging commercial enterprise.”
As an alternative to prison, Sheriff Wallace made both men subject to a community payback order and ordered them to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work each.
He also made both men subject to an electronic tag through the imposition of a restriction of liberty order for 12 months.
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