A Rotorua man who was dedicated to "alternative living" has lost his house after he was sentenced for cultivating cannabis.
Ian Lee Hewison, 46, appeared in the High Court at Rotorua yesterday before Justice Graham Lang for sentencing on a charge of cultivating cannabis and possession of equipment. He had previously pleaded guilty to the charges.
According to police summary of facts, a search warrant was executed to Hewison's Elizabeth St property on May 30 this year. In a bedroom of a second dwelling behind where the family lived, police found 21 cannabis plants in eight pots. They also found several bags of loose cannabis leaves throughout the property and in a freezer.
In court, the set-up was described as a sophisticated operation with lights connected to electrical timers, fan units and vents and nutrients fed by a watering system set up in the next bedroom.
"Its likely yield had the ability to produce three [growing] cycles per year ... the operation had the ability to make up to $70,000 per growing cycle," Justice Lang read out.