Pinner woman jailed over cannabis factory (From Harrow Times)

Pinner woman jailed over cannabis factory

5:08pm Tuesday 4th November 2008 in

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A PINNER woman has been jailed for letting her house be used to grow thousands of pounds worth of cannabis.

Harrow Crown Court heard Stephanie Goodman knew the building, in Eastern Avenue, was being used as a sophisticated cannabis factory with the ability to produce between £27,000 and £46,500 worth of the drug each year.

When police raided the house they found plants with a potential yield of just under 3kg of herbal cannabis and the same amount of skunk, and Harrow Crown Court heard the smell was so powerful officers had to change their clothes after leaving.

Judge Patricia Dangor sentenced Goodman to three-and-a-half years in prison.

She said: “It was a sophisticated operation, an extensive operation and an expensive operation. The smell of the cannabis was so powerful it was overwhelming.”

The house was fitted with fans, lights and other machinery used for growing the class C drug, including a piece of equipment worth £1,000.

Goodman claims she was renting the property and had no knowledge of what it was being used for.

Police found around 30 plants in the raid and believe they had a value of more than £12,000.

Judge Dangor described skunk, the stronger form of the drug taken from the flower, as “potent and devastating”.

She said: “I've taken into account the fact that you are now a 45-year-old woman, that you have been of hitherto good character and that this is not a violent offence.

“However, the taking of cannabis is now recognised to have detrimental affects on the health, in particular of those who are vulnerable, and the court must take a serious view of your conviction.”

Officers want to confiscate £21,116 from Goodman, under legislation designed to stop criminals keeping the financial benefits of their crimes.

A hearing will be held next year.

Goodman maintains her innocence.