First offender fined £1,000 for producing eight cannabis plants in Dundee

A Dundee man was caught producing eight cannabis plants worth £5,000 after a leak in his roof led police to his door.

Adrian Bednarski, 23, denied the class B drugs were grown to supply, but admitted producing them, insisting that they were for personal use.

Police raided two top floor flats at Albert Street on November 6 last year after two witnesses had gone into the loft to check on a water leak and discovered the plants.

Officers were contacted and arrived to arrest Benarksi, now of Morgan Street, then obtained a search warrant before recovering eight plants.

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Procurator fiscal Laura Hogg told Dundee Sheriff Court: “Two witnesses were inspecting a water leak which was believed to be due to a fault with the tiles.

“On gaining access (to the loft) they observed large black bags which held cannabis plants. The police were contacted and the accused was arrested. Police obtained a search warrant and found eight cannabis plants worth £5,000. ”

Defence solicitor Jim Laverty told Sheriff John Rafferty: “Mr Bednarski decided to produce the cannabis to provide for his own personal use.

“He is a young man of 23, in full time employment as a brick layer and he is involved in a long- term relationship. The couple propose to get married and he has no other outstanding cases.

“This has given him something of a fright with being taken to the police station and interviewed by police and I understand the use of illegal substances immediately stopped because he does not want to be involved in this again.”

Mr Laverty explained that Bednarski earned £275 a week, and with overtime and working away from the city that “jumps up” to £475, but added that his client was not working at the moment and would have to “pull his wings in” to pay any financial penalty.

Sheriff Rafferty said: “An offence of this nature involving the potential to make £5,000, and for someone on a first offence, would normally attract the court’s attention and then disposal which would be to consider a custodial sentence.

“But in the circumstances I am going to impose a monetary penalty which would have been £1,400, but I will discount that to £1,000.

“This is now on your record.”