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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Wareside and Cheshunt men jailed for £500k cannabis operation
Hertfordshire Mercury Friday 03 Aug 2012 LawPolice seized 48.5kg (107lb) of skunk cannabis in vacuum-packed bags after following a car that had left the West Midlands for Cheshunt and then ended up at Nazeing. Wareside man Ricky Clark and his cousin Anthony Byles, from Cheshunt, were arrested at Clark’s dad’s home, where the cannabis was being stored, on February 28. After they arrived at Cheshunt, they drove to Middle Streetin Nazeing where Clark and Byles were storing the drugs in a wood shed on which the police swooped. Prosecuting, Neil King told St Albans Crown Court yesterday (August 3) that the cannabis was "good skunk cannabis" worth £490,000. The driver, James Ainsworth, and two other men, Robert Lines and James Smith, all from Coventry, West Midlands, were arrested later. All five men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis. Clark admitted possessing a gas canister that was found in an old fridge in the front porch of his home. Lines also pleaded guilty to possessing 0.87oz (24.6g) of cocaine. Mitigating for Byles, Ruth Jones said others, higher up the drug chain, did not get their hands dirty. She said Byles had known the Coventry men since he was 11-years-old and was Ricky Clark's cousin. Ms Jones said Byles had a strong work ethic and was a refuse collector for Haringey Council who had not had a day off in 20 years. Justin Rouse, defending Clark, said he had been sentenced at the Old Bailey for a cocaine conspiracy but had been released on licence. Mr Rouse said he had fallen into a bad circle at the end of 2010 and agreed to store the cannabis for £650. He said Clarkwas the sole carer for his 6-year-old daughter, who was ill. David Nuttall, for Smith, said he suffered from debt after getting into mortgage arrears. He said he pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and felt remorse. For Lines, Belinda Ariss, said there were several people above him in the chain who had not been caught. She said the former soldier had no previous convictions or cautions, was married with two children and was supported in court by his wife. For Ainsworth, Kevin Saunders, said he was a "grafter" who worked at a Peugeot vehicle plant before being made redundant and setting up in business as a tree surgeon. Judge Marie Catterson said: "It was a commercial operation dealing in highly valuable illegal drugs for a commercial profit motive." She sentenced Lines, 47, from Potters Green Road, Coventry, to four-and-a-half years in jail, Smith, 49, of Wareham Green, Coventry, to four years, Byles, 49, of Hobby Horse Close, Cheshunt, to four years, Clark, 35, of Wareside, to two years and Ainsworth, 46, of New Green Park, Coventry to two years. http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/Cheshunt-and-Waltham/Ware-and-Cheshunt-men-jailed-for-500k-cannabis-operation-03082012.htm
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