Owner of building where cannabis farm was found ordered to hand over £6,500 assets

A man who allowed a Holbeach farm to be used for growing cannabis has been ordered to hand over £6,500 in assets by a judge.

Daniel Magner, 34, was given a suspended jail sentence in February this year after police found over 240 cannabis plants worth up to £200,000 during a raid on Millbank Farm.

Following the sentence hearing a Proceeds of Crime investigation was carried out to determine the amount Magner had benefitted from his criminal activity and his available assets to confiscate.

A Proceeds of Crime hearing at Lincoln Crown Court was told it had now been established that Magner made a benefit of £200,000 from his criminal activity.

But the hearing was told Magner, who was given a 21 month suspended jail sentence, had available assets of just £6,500 which could be confiscated.

David Eager, prosecuting, said those assets included a Ford Transit van valued at £2,740.

Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight told Magner he would face four months imprisonment if the sum of £6,500 was not paid to the court within three months.

“As long as it is paid that will be the end of that part of the order,” Judge Sjolin Knight added.

Previously the court heard how a second man, Harvey Tyler, 24, was found living on the farm in a small caravan when police raided the property on 22 May 2020. His role was to water the crop.

Mr Eager said while police were at the barn Magner arrived with a key to the property. Both men admitted being concerned in the production of cannabis.

“There were 243 cannabis plants in various stages of growth,” Mr Eager told the court. “It was a barn full of mature cannabis plants with all the various equipment except a watering system.”

A police drugs expert said the cannabis plants would produce a yield of between 6.7 and 20 kgs with a value ranging from £34,000 to £202,000 depending on how it was sold.

The court was told Magner had initially rented the property for legitimate use as a car repair business and then came under some pressure to use it for cannabis.

It was accepted that Tyler had come under some pressure in his lesser role as head gardener for the cannabis farm.

A Proceeds of Crime hearing for Tyler, who was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment suspended for two years, was adjourned until November.

Both men were also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work in the community.