Oaks Road, Rivenhall, man sentenced for cannabis farm

Residents had moaned about sounds coming from the house in Oak Road, Rivenhall, and when the property worker arrived, they found the upstairs floor had been converted into a cannabis factory.

Police officers found 185 juvenile cannabis plants, while preparations had been put in place to kit out further rooms, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.

James Graves, 26, who was renting the property, was interviewed by the police and charged after the discovery on May 13, 2019.

Hannah Gladwell, prosecuting, said if sold in grams the potential yield of the Class B drugs could have fetched an eye-watering £155,400.

Sentence - Chelmsford Crown Court (Image: Google Maps)

“This operation was capable of producing a significant quantity for commercial use,” she said.

Madeleine Deasy, mitigating, told the court Graves, of Elwes Close, Colchester, had turned to cocaine and alcohol to deal with tragedy he faced in his life.

She said: “His life has not been characterised by criminality. He has lived a positive and productive life.

"His addiction to cocaine and reliance on alcohol [was] an answer to his grief.

“This is an isolated incident, a one-off for Mr Graves. He had not previously and has not since been involved in such offending.

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“He saw participating in this cultivation as a quick fix for his debts.”

The court heard Graves has since become clean of his drug addiction and alcohol dependency.

Judge Timothy Godfrey spared the defendant an immediate jail sentence, suspending a 30-week sentence for 18 months.

“What you did was involve yourself in a significant drug production,” said the judge.

“That serious criminality undoubtedly crosses the custody threshold, but I accept you had substantial difficulties in your personal life.”

Graves must undertake 120 hours of unpaid work, 15 days of a rehabilitation order and pay £1,200 in costs.