Courts / Dublin / Report

Chinese man caught cultivating cannabis jailed for three and a half years

Date
2015-11-20
Stage
Sentence
Primary locality
Dublin City
County
Dublin

Summary

A 33‑year‑old Chinese man, Nianjie He, was sentenced to three and a half years' imprisonment after pleading guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawfully cultivating cannabis at his apartment on Wolfe Tone Street. The cultivation, valued at €100,800, involved 126 plants at various growth stages, humidifiers, fans and weighing scales, but no flowering buds. Gardaí were alerted by the apartment block manager, discovered the plants, and seized the premises with a warrant. He was found injured two floors below the window he had jumped from. He had previously been jailed for three years in Galway for a similar offence. He admitted to watering and feeding the plants daily, claiming he harvested them for up to €11,000 per crop and that most proceeds were used to pay a large gambling debt. He denied purchasing the plants but said he supplied them to third parties who paid him.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Chinese man caught cultivating cannabis jailed for three and a half years. Charges or matters: unlawfully cultivating cannabis at his premises on May 8, 2014. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

Case subjects

Nianjie He

Convicted Person

Charges: unlawfully cultivating cannabis at his premises on May 8, 2014 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: He has two previous convictions from Galway Circuit Court in 2015 where he was jailed for three years for a similar offence there. Judge Nolan accepted He had been forced to mind the plants for third parties but noted that he had committed similar offences in Galway while awaiting sentence on the Dublin matter.

Places mentioned

Secondary Mention
Facility
  • Stafford House
Residence
  • Wolfe Tone Street
Court Venue
  • Dublin
  • Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
  • Galway
  • Galway Circuit Court

Topics

Drugs Stage Sentence

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