A man caught with cannabis worth more than £35,000 has narrowly avoided a prison sentence.
Dawid Olbrys, 27, admitted producing cannabis at a flat in King Street, Stonehouse, on September 28 last year.
Olbrys, of Thornliebank, Glasgow, also admitted being concerned in the supply of the drug in Wellington Street, Wishaw, less than four weeks later.
Hamilton Sheriff Court heard police officers went to the King Street address after a tip-off. There was no one in and they forced entry.
Neil Thomson, prosecuting, said: “The flat had effectively been converted to a cannabis cultivation.
“There were 49 plants with a potential total value of £17,600. Officers also seized paraphernalia related to the drugs production.
“Police officers viewed CCTV footage that showed the accused Olbrys entering the close on a regular basis. His fingerprints and DNA were on a number of items that were seized.”
Cops investigating drug supply on a wider scale then raided a flat in Wellington Street, Wishaw, on October 23.
Mr Thomson told the court: “They found £6,730 in cash and during their search Olbrys appeared. He had arrived in a BMW driven by his partner.
“A bag was recovered in the vehicle. It contained 2.5kg of cannabis with a potential street value of around £18,000.
“Olbrys said the cannabis in the car belonged to him and his partner knew nothing of it.”
Defence lawyer Diarmid Bruce said Olbrys, originally from Poland, is a time-served joiner with a “good work ethic”.
Mr Bruce added: “He started smoking cannabis and got involved in something he shouldn’t have. He made a terrible error of judgment.”
Sheriff Colin Dunipace said a jail sentence would be imposed in most cases of this kind, but told Olbrys: “Somewhat unusually, I’m going to step back from that in this situation.”
Olbrys must carry out 300 hours of unpaid community work within a year.
He will also be confined to his home between 7pm and 7am each day under a nine-month electronic tagging order.
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