Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Daktory cannabis club pair to learn their fate today

Northern Advocate
10 Oct, 2017 08:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
A police raid on the Daktory Social Club in Whangarei in January led to the arrest of Brian Thomas Borland and Sarah Gwenneth Gillgren. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A police raid on the Daktory Social Club in Whangarei in January led to the arrest of Brian Thomas Borland and Sarah Gwenneth Gillgren. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Three charges against a Whangarei duo arrested after a self-styled "cannabis club" in Whangarei was busted by police were dismissed at their trial due to insufficient evidence.

Brian Thomas Borland, 60, and Sarah Gwenneth Gillgren, 28, are on trial before a jury in the Whangarei District Court after both pleaded not guilty to eight charges.

Borland has denied charges of cultivating cannabis, selling cannabis oil, possession of cannabis oil for supply, permitting premises to be used for growing cannabis and theft of electricity worth $20,106.

Both were members of the Daktory Social Club in the city's Port Rd industrial area. The alleged offences were committed between December last year and January this year.

Gillgren has pleaded guilty to one charge of cultivating cannabis and another of selling cannabis. She has denied charges of permitting premises to be used for growing cannabis, possession of cannabis oil for supply and supplying cannabis oil.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

At the completion of the crown case before lunch yesterday, defence lawyers Arthur Fairley, acting for Gillgren, and Kelly Ellis, for Borland, applied to have some charges dismissed due to lack of evidence.

Judge Duncan Harvey discharged Borland on charges of theft of electricity and possession of cannabis oil for supply, while the charge of permitting premises to be used for growing cannabis against Gillgren was also dismissed.

Borland elected to neither give evidence nor call witnesses while Gillgren chose to give evidence.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She told the jury she used cannabis oil for medicinal purposes after suffering from mental illness.

Gillgren said she had been on anti-depressants and found cannabis helpful. She did not sell or give cannabis oil to anyone, she said.

Club executives spoke about giving or selling cannabis plants in a safe environment to those who needed them, she said.

Gillgren said she thought it was a good idea.

Earlier, Constable Denham Kelly told the jury Borland had become aggressive and hostile and had torn the search warrant given to him in the premises.

Judge Harvey will sum up the case this morning, with the jury then expected to retire to consider its verdict.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Dirt bike rider seriously injured in Whangārei crash

10 Feb 10:00 PM
Northern Advocate

Family devastated after watchdog finds no one liable for dad’s death after pharmacy error

10 Feb 04:00 PM
Opinion

Gwendolyn Needham: Ruapekapeka commemoration blends battle history, whānau pride and future hopes

10 Feb 03:50 PM

Sponsored

Cyber crime in 2025: Increased specialisation, increased collaboration, increased risk

09 Feb 09:12 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Dirt bike rider seriously injured in Whangārei crash
Northern Advocate

Dirt bike rider seriously injured in Whangārei crash

Police say the Whangārei rider is now in a stable condition in hospital.

10 Feb 10:00 PM
Family devastated after watchdog finds no one liable for dad’s death after pharmacy error
Northern Advocate

Family devastated after watchdog finds no one liable for dad’s death after pharmacy error

10 Feb 04:00 PM
Gwendolyn Needham: Ruapekapeka commemoration blends battle history, whānau pride and future hopes
Opinion

Gwendolyn Needham: Ruapekapeka commemoration blends battle history, whānau pride and future hopes

10 Feb 03:50 PM


Cyber crime in 2025: Increased specialisation, increased collaboration, increased risk
Sponsored

Cyber crime in 2025: Increased specialisation, increased collaboration, increased risk

09 Feb 09:12 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP