Landlord turns pub into Cannabis farm after business closes
The landlord initially claimed he was producing cannabis oil to help fellow gout sufferers.
The landlord of a pub turned the building into a cannabis farm after the business folded. The bar boss began growing wholesale quantities of the drug in the otherwise empty premises which he then supplied to local dealers for onward supply.
Darren Stephens' advocate told Swansea Crown Court that the defendant had been in a "desperate situation" after the pub closed and "took the foolish option to make a quick buck". A judge told the 40-year-old father-of-one he had come close to completely messing up his life with his drug growing operation.
Tom Scapens, prosecuting, said that acting on information received, police officers executed a search warrant at the closed Bird in Hand pub in Trimsaran, Carmarthenshire, on March 8 this year. The officers forced entry to the building via a rear door and found that while the kitchen appeared to be in use the rest of the downstairs was empty. However, when police went upstairs they were struck by the "strong smell of cannabis" in the air. The court heard that two bedrooms on the first floor contained large cannabis growing tents complete with fans, lights, and other equipment as well as bottles of plant food. Officers also found a plant drying area, and a number of large plastic boxes containing already harvested cannabis.
The prosecutor said while police were arranging for vehicles to take the cannabis and other items away from the premises the defendant arrived at the pub - he confirmed that "the grow" was his and said he was producing the drug to turn it into the cannabis oil to help fellow gout sufferers. A subsequent examination of Stephens' phone showed conversations with others about the production and "trimming" of the plants, and about the buying and selling of quantities of cannabis. Get the latest crime and court stories sent straight to your email inbox
Darren Stephens, of Heol Morlais, Trimsaran, Carmarthenshire, had previously pleaded guilty to producing cannabis and to possession of cannabis with intent to supply when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has a previous conviction for drug driving. Matt Murphy, for Stephens, said the defendant had taken on the tenancy of the pub but when the bar folded had launched a commercial food business from the kitchen. However, he said while that catering enterprise was still in its infancy his client "took the foolish option to make a quick buck" by turning to cannabis production and selling the crop to others on a wholesale basis. The advocate accepted the offending crossed the custody threshold and said the question for the court was whether the sentence of imprisonment was one that had to be served immediately or was one that could be suspended. Mr Murphy said the defendant had a young daughter and was remorseful for taking the "wrong option" after finding himself is a "desperate situation" with a closed pub, and he invited the court to suspend the sentence.
Judge Huw Rees said the defendant had clearly been involved in a commercial operation producing a significant amount of cannabis. With discounts for his guilty pleas Stephens was sentenced to 22 months in prison suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. The judge told the defendant he had come close to "messing your life up completely".
