Leamington man ordered to pay £68,000 or face extension to prison term given for producing cannabis

Wayne Salvin, 52, of The Approach appeared at Coventry Crown Court on Friday and was ordered to pay a confiscation order of £68,003.71 within six months or serve a two year prison sentence in default.

Salvin was sentenced on Friday 4 April 2014, to a total of four years imprisonment for offences of producing cannabis and abstracting electricity.

He was originally arrested on Tuesday 16 July 2013 after officers became suspicious of an extension to his property. It had high security, blacked out windows, the sound of air ventilation equipment and the smell of cannabis.

After police were initially refused entry by Salvin to the property, officers conducted a search and discovered three growing rooms and over 50 cannabis plants.

Salvin had rigorously contested the confiscation application, maintaining he had only produced cannabis for his own use. This was rejected by His Honour Judge Gregory - the Judge making the order: “You deliberately embarked on a high profit, high risks commercial enterprise that attracts an appropriate and significant penalty.”

The court heard that amongst Salvin’s assets were a motor yacht, a Harley Davison motorcycle, two personalised number plates and a house in Leamington Spa.

Det Con Sara Taylor, the investigating officer, said: “Cannabis misuse fuelled by this type of commercial activity is very damaging to our communities and the police will always aim to take positive action.”

Kaye Williams, the financial investigator who secured the order against Salvin, said: “This case should serve as a warning to those who see the production of cannabis as an easy way to make money. “Wherever possible, Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police’s Economic Crime Unit will ruthlessly strip the assets of individuals convicted of producing controlled dugs on a commercial basis.”