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25-year-old Joseph Hughes must have fancied himself a Breaking Bad-die for running a cannabis hydroponic grow room in one of Cape Town’s most affluent suburbs.

But then came the Hawks.

The Constantia guy has been sentenced in the Khayelitsha Priority Court on charges of possession of drugs according to the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, reported IOL.

Following a search and seizure operation, the Western Cape spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as Hawks), Warrant Officer Zinzi Hani, said Hughes was arrested on December 2, 2022.

Image: Hawks

Hani says police, the K9 unit and the Narcotics Burea of the Hawks pounced on his property after receiving a tip-off about a suspect operating a cannabis hydroponic grow room. When they arrived, they found an assortment of cannabis plants spread out in seven rooms on the property, which were used to cultivate different strains of dagga.

“Six bags of dagga heads, six kilograms of dagga heads, 754 dagga trees, 10 kilograms of dried dagga stems with heads on, and 315 rounds of ammunition were found. The all-inclusive value of cannabis surpasses R1.5 million,” Hani said.

Hughes was out on R50,000 bail since his arrest until he pleaded guilty. The youngster has been sentenced to five years imprisonment or a fine of R200,000 which is wholly suspended for a period of five years on condition he is not convicted of the same offence.

[source:algoafm&iol]