The prosecution requested a three-year prison sentence on Wednesday in the Dinant Criminal Court for a man indicted for growing and selling cannabis.
The man is accused of trafficking in cannabis between 2015 and 2019 and growing 600 cannabis plants between May 2016 and November 2017 in Han-sur-Lesse (Rochefort).
Sentences of 25 months, 20 months, 18 months and one year in prison were also requested for four other people, prosecuted for participating in growing the plants or for purchasing narcotics from the alleged grower.
The cannabis farm was dismantled thanks to information reaching the police "according to which one of the defendants was selling cannabis in Rochefort and was looking to expand," the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Namur said. "The investigation grew, and we were able to identify his supplier,” it explained.
A search was carried out at the supplier's home, where the 600 cannabis plants were found. In addition to growing the plants, the man also sold the drug. “He bought 800 grammes per month in Brussels and resold 600,” the Namur prosecutor’s office said.
The main suspect denies being the originator of the cannabis farm. According to him, Dutch people from whom he stole €25,000 forced him to develop it to “pay off his debt”.
The ORES electricity company is claiming the sum of €61,875 for electricity diverted while the cannabis was being cultivated.
The defence attorneys, who argued that reasonable time had been exceeded, each requested probationary measures, such as autonomous probation or suspended sentences.
Judgment will be handed down on 15 November
