Carpenter used dad's garage for cannabis business

A CARPENTER was running a side business growing and selling cannabis, a court has heard.

- JASON EVANS

Dean Richards used his dad's garage to grow the drug which he then sold on to customers.

A judge said the defendant had clearly done his “research” in setting up the operation to ensure its profitability, and said that though Richards was himself a heavy cannabis user he had embarked on the drug enterprise to make money.

The judge also said she accepted the defendant was remorseful for the impact his being sent to prison would have on his family.

Swansea Crown Court heard that at lunchtime on July 26 this year police officers executed a search warrant at a unit in Bynea Business Park near Llanelli.

Officers recovered almost 2kg of cannabis from the premises along with weighing scales, mobile phones, and cannabis growing equipment such as carbon filters and ducting.

The court heard Richards was not present at the unit but when officers went to his home address in Llanelli they were met by the 45-year-old defendant who said he knew they had just been to the business park.