FruityBud
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A MAN living with his mother at Narellan managed for nine months to keep secret an elaborate hydroponic cannabis operation that police say could have earned him $240,000 a year.
Justin John Russell Williams, 32, told police his operation had cost him about $2000 to set up.
He had researched what he needed from the internet, ordered seeds and bought from shops around Sydney the equipment for his garden, which he grew in a small room within a garage at his mother's property.
Last week, Williams pleaded guilty before Camden Local Court to cultivating and possessing the cannabis, which Camden police discovered on October 8 after investigating a tip-off.
Police told the court that when they first knocked on Williams's door that morning, he had denied growing any cannabis plants and told them to come back later.
However, police arrested him soon afterwards when they saw him trying to stash two garbage bags full of cannabis plants into his neighbour's green-waste bin.
When police searched the property, they found what they described as "a small but sophisticated hydroponic set-up'' in Williams's garage and in a granny flat.
The granny flat housed a small area, hidden in a cupboard with internal heat and lighting, where seeds would be coaxed into seedlings.
From there, the seedlings would be transferred to two large growing trays in the room in the garage.
Above the trays, police said, was a motorised lighting system.
It moved the lights from side to side to maximise growth.
Water was recirculated to the plants using fish tank pumps and exhaust fans with carbon filters prevented crop smells from wafting outside and alerting Williams's mother or neighbours.
Williams told police he tended the plants daily, topping up their water and fertiliser.
He had been growing his plants for eight or nine months.
The 29 plants police found him trying to put in the neighbour's bin were only his second crop, he said.
Police say those plants were worth $58,000.
Police seized 140 grams of cannabis leaf in a bag and just over $5000 in cash.
Last week they withdrew a charge of dealing with cash suspected to be the proceeds of crime.
Williams said he was a heavy cannabis user and did not deal drugs to anyone else.
Sentencing submissions will be heard next month.
hxxp://tinyurl.com/8a9qr8
Justin John Russell Williams, 32, told police his operation had cost him about $2000 to set up.
He had researched what he needed from the internet, ordered seeds and bought from shops around Sydney the equipment for his garden, which he grew in a small room within a garage at his mother's property.
Last week, Williams pleaded guilty before Camden Local Court to cultivating and possessing the cannabis, which Camden police discovered on October 8 after investigating a tip-off.
Police told the court that when they first knocked on Williams's door that morning, he had denied growing any cannabis plants and told them to come back later.
However, police arrested him soon afterwards when they saw him trying to stash two garbage bags full of cannabis plants into his neighbour's green-waste bin.
When police searched the property, they found what they described as "a small but sophisticated hydroponic set-up'' in Williams's garage and in a granny flat.
The granny flat housed a small area, hidden in a cupboard with internal heat and lighting, where seeds would be coaxed into seedlings.
From there, the seedlings would be transferred to two large growing trays in the room in the garage.
Above the trays, police said, was a motorised lighting system.
It moved the lights from side to side to maximise growth.
Water was recirculated to the plants using fish tank pumps and exhaust fans with carbon filters prevented crop smells from wafting outside and alerting Williams's mother or neighbours.
Williams told police he tended the plants daily, topping up their water and fertiliser.
He had been growing his plants for eight or nine months.
The 29 plants police found him trying to put in the neighbour's bin were only his second crop, he said.
Police say those plants were worth $58,000.
Police seized 140 grams of cannabis leaf in a bag and just over $5000 in cash.
Last week they withdrew a charge of dealing with cash suspected to be the proceeds of crime.
Williams said he was a heavy cannabis user and did not deal drugs to anyone else.
Sentencing submissions will be heard next month.
hxxp://tinyurl.com/8a9qr8
