An Iranian refugee who cultivated 29 cannabis plants at a south-side house to pay off debts has avoided time behind bars.
Alireza Mohammedi, 25, pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court to cultivating a traffickable quantity of cannabis.
The court heard Mohammedi was arrested during a dawn raid at his Calwell home in early April.
Police discovered 16 mature, hydroponically grown cannabis plants – about 1.5 metres tall – in one room of the property. The plants were connected to an automatic watering system.
The room's windows had been covered, an exhaust fan fitted and four large heat lamps – attached to a timer – provided light.
A further seven small cannabis plants were found growing under a light inside a wooden furniture cabinet in the lounge room.
Four large cannabis plants were also found in a backyard greenhouse, and two smaller male shrubs were discovered near the rear door.
Other rooms also contained irrigation equipment, fans, scissors, a roll of vacuum-seal bags, a heat-sealing machine, scales and dried cannabis – some packaged ready for sale.
Pictures of two unknown men setting up the hydroponic system were found on a laptop.
Mohammedi told police he had grown the plants from seeds, and topped up the watering system daily.
He said a co-offender had set up the hydroponic system.
Mohammedi told police he would be away in Sydney when the crop was to be harvested and distributed.
Defence lawyer Kathryn-Magnolia Feeley said her client had been an employee “doing what he was told”, rather than the mastermind behind the enterprise.
Ms Feeley said the offender had had trouble settling into Australia since his arrival from Iran and had fallen in with bad company.
She told the court Mohammedi had stopped smoking cannabis and would be willing to complete drug rehabilitation.
Prosecutor Gavin Mansfield said the crime fell into the lower end of offending.
Mr Mansfield said the motivation behind the offence had been to make a profit to pay off debts.
Magistrate Robert Cook on Wednesday sentenced Mohammedi to eight months' jail, to be suspended upon entering an 18-month good-behaviour order.
He was also ordered to complete 80 hours of community service.
Mr Cook warned the offender he could be locked up if he broke the law again.
“If you breach your obligations by reoffending in some way … then you put yourself in jeopardy of being sentenced to imprisonment,” Mr Cook said. “It is in your hands.”
The magistrate urged Mohammedi to commit himself to a crime-free life.
“You came to Australia to seek the opportunities of what this country offers. Achieve what it is you want to achieve.”