Trio running drugs factory behind bars

Trio running drugs factory behind bars

20 June 2018

THREE people have been jailed for their involvement in the running of a cannabis factory near Comber.

North Lucas (50), of Ballymacreely Road, Comber, and Christopher Cameron (27), of Stratford Gardens, Belfast, were each jailed for four years, while Sylvia Todd (41), of Ballygowan Road, was jailed for 18 months.

All three admitted charges of cultivating cannabis and possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

Half of the sentences will be served in custody and the other half on licence.

Cameron was also given concurrent sentences of six months and nine months for cultivating cannabis at his home in Belfast and possessing a small amount of the drug.

Passing sentence at Downpatrick Crown Court last Wednesday, Judge Piers Grant said it was a “sophisticated and very substantial” operation and that “significant sentences” needed to be imposed.

The judge said Todd had played a “lesser role” but he was quite satisfied she had been engaged in the operation.

He told her: “I am going to give you more credit that you deserve.”

The court heard how the factory was discovered by police at Todd’s home on January 26 last year and became alerted by the “overwhelming smell of cannabis”.

They found cannabis leaves drying on radiators on the hallway, while upstairs in the attic they discovered more cannabis leaves drying on the floor, together with cannabis plants. The attic was fitted out with fans, timers, temperature controls and electrical ballasts.

In a nearby shed, which had its windows blackened out, they discovered 100 plants growing in pots. The walls and ceiling were lined with a plastic reflective material and there were irrigation, ventilation and extractor systems in place.

Police then went to Lucas’s home and found more plants growing in a shed, while at Cameron’s home they discovered plants and equipment used for cultivating seedlings. Cameron was found to have cannabis in his trousers pocket.

The total value of the cannabis found could have amounted to over £170,000.

When interviewed Cameron denied having anything to do with the Comber factory, claiming that he “was in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

Todd and Lucas, who were former partners, claimed that they had been threatened by armed and masked men into managing the operation. Lucas further claimed he had been to water the plants “under duress”.

It was, Judge Grant said, a “ready-made concocted story” and a “far fetched account of events”.

“This was a pre-planned and sophisticated set-up,” he said. “There is very little evidence of duress.”

An earlier court heard that Lucas and Cameron had operated as “managers” of the operation and that Todd, who had a clear record, had acted in a lesser role.

However, at last Wednesday’s sentencing Judge Grant said Todd had allowed the operation to take place in her home where she lived with her young son, though he 

accepted that her relationship with Lucas might have been an “influencing factor”.

He said she had shown no concern about the presence of a young boy “in a house where drugs were being dried for onward supply and distribution”.

“This is a serious aggravating factor,” Judge Grant continued. 

The judge said Cameron had “misused drugs since his adolescence” and “had not engaged in any drug rehabilitation programmes”.