Derbyshire cannabis farmer tried to destroy evidence while pretending to faint

A Derbyshire man who turned a rented house into a profitable cannabis factory in Heanor tried to destroy key evidence when he pretended to faint, a court has heard.

Police carried out a drugs warrant at an address on Church Street where they found Martin Gibbs, who immediately knew why they were there, on May 28, 2021.

Gibbs showed them a growing area in the first bedroom with 30 mature plants, and 61 younger plants in the second, with a potential harvest of 7.6 kilos of cannabis.

If sold wholesale that would have fetched £31,000, and much more in individual deals, prosecutor Stuart Pattinson told Nottingham Crown Court.

Gibbs, who was found living in 'poor conditions', claimed to feel faint and, when he sat down, tried to destroy his mobile phone, but officers seized it as evidence.

Text messages showed he had been planning to sell the drugs with another man. The electricity had been bypassed and 259 grams of cannabis were already bagged and ready for sale.

"The evidence contradicts his assertion that all of this cannabis was for his personal use," said Mr Pattinson

"It was not the most sophisticated operation. He was involved with someone else. He conceded it was his second crop."

Denney Lau, mitigating, said Gibbs, now aged 42, has no previous convictions.

"Despite his admission in the police interview it still took some time before the matter came to court," he said. "Perhaps his strongest mitigation is the time lapse."

Mr Lau said Gibbs is set to be offered a full-time contract at work and his partner is also due to give birth later this year.

"A lot of things have changed for this gentleman. At the time he was suffering mentally. He accepts smoking cannabis as a coping mechanism."

Gibbs admitted cannabis production, and being involved in supplying the drug, at the magistrates' court.

On Tuesday, Recorder Justin Wigoder handed him an 18-month prison term, suspended for two years, with 30 rehabilitation days.

"You rented a house purely for the purpose of growing cannabis and set it up as a cannabis growing factory,” he said. “If everything had gone as you planned it would have produced seven kilos and an enormous profit for you."