Courts in Moray: Elgin cannabis grower 'not a worry to Colombian cartels'
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The small-time efforts of an Elgin cannabis cultivator would not have given the Colombian drugs cartels any cause to worry.
That was the verdict of the sheriff at the town's court upon learning of the circumstances of Ian Wilcox's arrest.
The 44-year-old was apprehended on June 1 after police went to his home in Kingsmills following reports of a disturbance.
Having dealt with the initial matter, the court heard that the officers made a search of the rest of the house.
Upstairs they came across two tents pitched in the middle of a bedroom.
Inside these they found 16 cannabis plants.
The court heard that within the room the officers also found other items involved in the cultivation of cannabis.
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov asked the financial value of the cannabis which had been seized from the house.
When told this information wasn't available, she then asked how close to pollination the plants had been.
Defence solicitor Robert Cruickshank said they were still immature.
On being told this, Sheriff Pasportnikov commented: "The Colombian cartels don't need to worry just yet."
Mr Cruickshank stated his client, who came into the dock limping heavily and leaning on a crutch, had suffered a serious injury some time before the offence.
The lawyer added: "His motivation for the committal of this crime was most definitely for his own pain relief.
"However he acknowledges that it was a waste of time.
"Moving forward he would not be making any repetition of this."
Mr Cruickshank said that Wilcox, prior to his arrest for growing cannabis, had remained out of trouble for three years.
Sheriff Pasportnikov commented: "He had been doing very well."
From the dock, Wilcox said: "I've become a grandad."
The defendant was ordered to carry out 100 hours of "light duties" for the benefit of the local community within the next nine months.
