A cannabis farmer whose “substantial cultivation” was discovered after firefighters broke in to investigate smoke alarms at his flat has been fined.
Graeme Fyffe, 37, was at work when a water leak triggered the alarms, which alerted the fire service.
Crews from Balmossie Fire Station attended the flat in Gray Street, Broughty Ferry, and smashed down the front door when they got no reply.
Inside, they found the cultivation of the Class B drug growing in a spare bedroom of the property.
When Fyffe returned home, he found officers from Police Scotland waiting for him inside.
A subsequent search of the premises by a sniffer dog revealed several “indications” of cannabis in the living room, as well as the spare bedroom, Dundee Sheriff Court heard.
Fyffe admitted producing cannabis at the flat on December 14 2016.
Fiscal depute Sue Ruta told the court that at around 2.30pm, the fire and rescue service received a 999 call from a concerned resident at the close.
The tenant had reported that all the smoke alarms in the accused’s flat had been repeatedly activating over a prolonged period of time.
Firefighters attended and could hear the alarms.
The court heard that when there was no reply at the door, they forced entry to the flat, concerned for the safety of any occupants.
However, the flat was found to be unoccupied.
Their investigations revealed that the cause of the alarm was a water leak in the living room, which had short-circuited a smoke detector.
During the search of the rest of the flat, firefighters came across several cannabis plants growing in what they called a “substantial cannabis cultivation” in a spare bedroom.
The fiscal depute said police were contacted and they confirmed it was a “major” cultivation.
Sheriff Alastair Brown fined Fyffe £450 and ordered forfeiture of drugs paraphernalia found in the flat.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.