Any allegation involving the trafficking of drugs (supplying to others) is taken extremely seriously by the courts and sentences are always likely to be severe. We have represented defendants accused of being involved at all levels of the drug supply chain from international importers to street dealers.
In a recent case we represented the only defendant to be found not guilty in a multiple defendant investigation prosecuted by SOCA alleging a conspiracy to import amphetamine from The Netherlands and possesion with intent to supply heroin and cocaine to the UK.
Our determined approach to the case ensured that our client was properly aquitted of all charges and we subsequently secured the release of all assets subject to a restraining order by the prosecuting authority. See our money laundering page for further details.
Cannabis Cultivation - a new approach?
When a cannabis plant is being grown (or "cultivated" as the police would describe it) it can be inferred that there is an intention that at some point it will be consumed by the end-user. When plants are being grown in larger quantities the implied intention is that the cannabis will be consumed by others, not just the grower. This is commonly charged by the police as "possession of cannabis with intent to supply".
However, if the plants are very immature and have not yet produced the "useful" THC laden flowering heads is there an intention to supply at that point, or later?
The answer to this question (which arose in a case we dealt with this year) has been considered in the case of R-v-Wright (2011) EWCA Crim 1180. The Court of Appeal heard that Wright had 35 immature cannabis plants in his possession and the police case was that he intended to grow these plants to maturity and sell the flowering heads.
The Court of Appeal found that the "intention to supply" required for this offence to be completed was an intention to supply the thing in his possession at the time, not what it might become later. As there was no suggestion that Wright intended to supply the cannabis plants at the time they were seized he was not guilty of that offence.
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In a recent case we represented the only defendant to be found not guilty in a multiple defendant investigation prosecuted by SOCA alleging a conspiracy to import amphetamine from The Netherlands and possesion with intent to supply heroin and cocaine to the UK.