Rochdale tenant denies knowledge of cannabis plantation in attic

#Rochdale #tenant #denies #knowledge #cannabis #plantation #attic

A tenant of an apartment in South has to leave his home after a cannabis plantation was discovered in his attic. The man argued that he had no knowledge of the nursery, but according to the judge, he can certainly be blamed for the plantation.

The subdistrict court judge ruled this in a case brought by the Rochdale housing association. The cannabis plantation was found by the police on November 8, 2023. Agents discovered 14 lamps, more than 200 containers of soil, two extractors and climate control equipment in the attic room. The power was also tapped illegally.

The man, who previously fled from Syria, argued that it was not he, but another person to whom he sublet the attic, that had grown the hemp. He stated that an acquaintance of a colleague needed shelter in September, and that as a refugee he would like to help this acquaintance. He also said that he could use the money from the subletting to support his parents in Syria.

This acquaintance was therefore allowed to use the attic room as a place to sleep for a few days. The acquaintance allegedly paid the man 150 euros for this.

Inadequate supervision

He stated that he had only had contact with this acquaintance once or twice. The subtenant then allegedly stopped responding to his calls. Nevertheless, the man did not investigate afterwards and he did not know that the subtenant had meanwhile put a lock on the attic room. The judge blames the man for not providing sufficient supervision.

“Regardless of whether or not he was aware of the subtenant’s plans to install a cannabis farm, he can be blamed for the operation of the cannabis farm by insufficiently monitoring what was happening in the attic room.” , according to the subdistrict court judge. “There was also theft of electricity.”

Criminal case dismissed

Because it cannot be proven that the man knew that a cannabis plantation had been established in his home, a criminal case against him has been dismissed. This also applies to the subtenant, who has still been interviewed by the police.