Two men have narrowly avoided a prison sentence after they took refuge in a house that turned out to be a £120,000 cannabis farm.
Martynas Jurksaitis, 27, and Marius Povilanskas, 37, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where they admitted a charge of being concerned in the supply of cannabis from an address in Blackburn.
It was stated that the men had arrived in the UK from Lithuania with employment and accommodation already arranged, but when it fell through, they were left stranded and in desperate need of somewhere to sleep.
They were approached with an offer to stay at a property in Blackburn, which they soon realised was being used for large-scale cannabis cultivation.
As the men slept, police officers burst in through the door at 8am the following morning.
Liam Mcallister, a solicitor for one of the men, described the decision as the “biggest mistake” of his client’s life.
More than 140 plants found
Fiscal depute Dylan Middleton told the court that in October 2019, intelligence was received by Police Scotland that cannabis was being cultivated within Old Toll House, in Blackburn.
A warrant for the property was obtained and police forced entry to the house on October 30, finding Jurksaitis and Povilanskas sleeping on an air mattress inside.
“During a search of the address, two rooms on the ground floor were found to contain a number of plants which were consistent in appearance to cannabis,” Mr Midleton said.
“A further two constructed rooms were discovered in the loft area which were found to contain similar plants, consistent in appearance to cannabis.
“During the search of the remainder of the property various mobile telephones and other paraphernalia consistent with the supply of drugs was found.”
In total 146 plants were recovered from within the address, with the maximum value of the drugs found estimated to be £118,260.
A total of £3,170 was also found within the property.
In the dock, Jurksaitis and Povilanskas pleaded guilty to one charge of being concerned in the supply of cannabis.
‘This is an exceptional case’
Jurksaitis’ defence solicitor Laura Gracie told the court that, at the time, her client’s job had fallen through and he was running out of money.
“He hadn’t just turned up here, he had employment in place but for whatever reason that didn’t work out,” she said.
“I don’t think we can get away from the fact that it’s a high amount of drugs.”
Liam Mcallister, Povilanskas’ lawyer, elaborated on the situation, saying both men had been forced into a desperate situation and had made the “foolish and stupid decision” to stay in that house.
“My client is a hard-working, thoroughly respectful and decent man,” he said.
“When his employment and accommodation fell through, he bought a return ticket to Lithuania, which is further evidence that this was not planned and consistent with their position that they needed somewhere to stay.
“The threshold has been met for custody, but this is an exceptional case – this is the biggest mistake of my client’s life.”
Sheriff Ian Wallace told Jurksaitis and Povilanskas: “You will now be aware that ordinarily the court would impose a custodial sentence in relation to the offence you pled guilty to.
“You involved yourself in a significant cannabis operation, but you played a limited role, it was over one day and your role was to look after the plants in order to have accommodation.
“There was no financial gain on your part and you have no previous convictions on your record.”
As an alternative to a prison, Sheriff Wallace ordered Jurksaitis and Povilanskas, both of Longford Avenue, Little Billing, Northampton, to carry out 300 hours unpaid work.
He also ordered each man to pay a fine of £2,000.
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