Cannabis farmer jailed

Oct 20 2011 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

AN illegal immigrant who was caught growing £30,000 worth of cannabis plants has been jailed.

Police officers raided an address in Drummond Place, Blackridge, on August 24 after they received intelligence that a cannabis cultivation was being grown at the house.

Inside they found 228 cannabis plants, worth £30,000, and various items related to the production of the class B drug spread across three rooms in the property.

“It appeared to be a professional set up,” fiscal depute Marion Haig said.

“Windows at the front and rear of the property were sealed off from natural light.”

The accused, Ping Wu, was found lying on a bed in one of the rooms.

Through an interpreter Wu told officers he was staying in the UK illegally and that he had just been staying at the house to look after the plants.

Last week at Livingston Sheriff Court Wu, 29, who was described as a prisoner of Edinburgh Prison, pled guilty to producing the class B drug at the Blackridge address.

His solicitor, Gillian Taylor, told the court her client was originally from the Fujian Province in south-east China.

“He states that he left China approximately six years ago. He travelled to Europe on his own passport,” Miss Taylor said.

“He passed through many countries in Europe including Italy and France. He says that he came to the UK via France and it is his understanding that at this stage he entered the country illegally as he didn’t go through any formal checkpoints.

“In the UK he has mostly been working in restaurants and takeaway shops until he suffered a heart attack.

“His position is that he is no longer fit to carry out manual or strenuous work.

“He tells me that he was hoping to travel back to China. He didn’t have enough money for the ticket and a friend offered him some money to pay for it in exchange for a few days work.

“He ended up at the property in Blackridge and he says he was there only one night before the police arrived.

“He states that he didn’t know what the plants were. He has told me that he thought they were some sort of flower or small tree.

“It was only when the police explained to him that the plants were cannabis and that they were in fact an illegal drug that he realised that he had done wrong.”

Sheriff Grahame Fleming, however, was not impressed.

“This was a domestic premise. Did he not think it was strange that he was growing plants in a house where the windows were taped up so no natural light could get in?” the sheriff said.

Ms Taylor added: “He is sorry for his actions and he understands the seriousness of the offence. He understands that because he came here on an illegal basis that he will be deported back to China.”

Sentencing Wu to 18 months imprisonment Sheriff Fleming said: “I have listened carefully to all that has been said on your behalf and I have taken into account all the material contained in the criminal justice social work report, though I find it hard to believe that you were not well aware of what was going on in the house.

“Having regard to the nature of the offence and noting that this was clearly a commercial operation, I consider that no sentence other than imprisonment is appropriate.”