An oil worker who turned to growing cannabis to support himself after the North Sea downturn forced him out of work has been jailed for a year.
Oliver Georgopollous was made redundant from his job more than two years ago and took employment as a delivery driver to support himself.
But he said he could not live on his £700 to £900 a month wages – so started growing cannabis in a tent in his Dundee flat to give himself a second income.
When police discovered his cultivation, Georgopollous said he did not smoke the drug himself, but grew it to sell on to “make a bit of money”.
Depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson told Dundee Sheriff Court the drugs found growing in his flat had a maximum value of £8,400.
She said: “A search of the property was undertaken, during which a cannabis cultivation consisting of 14 healthy mature plants was found within a tent in one of the rooms.
“Cannabis cultivation equipment including fans, power units, plant food, thermostats, sprayers, water pumps, extractors, filters, scales, grinders and irrigation systems was also found within the room, as were three containers containing a total of around 11 grams of harvested herbal cannabis.
“Various other items of cannabis cultivation were found in other rooms of the property and £2,260 in cash was found in the accused’s bedroom.
“The accused was detained and stated ‘I can make a bit of money’ and ‘I don’t smoke it’.
“He admitted growing the cannabis found in his home and admitted that he sold it onto other persons, not smoking any of it himself other than to try out his crop when it was ready, which would be about every two months.
“He said that he did this purely for financial gain as he could not afford to live on the £700 to £900 per month he made in his job as a delivery driver, having previously been made redundant from his job in the oil industry.
“He admitted that the cash recovered was partly the profits from his sale of the cannabis.”
Georgopollous, 28, of Ballindean Terrace, Dundee, pleaded guilty on indictment to charges of producing and supplying cannabis from his home address between March 12 2015 and March 12 2016.
Jailing Georgopollous for 12 months, Sheriff Alastair Carmichael said: “There is no option but a custodial sentence.”
