A 52-year-old woman from Lommel risks 18 months in prison and an €8,000 fine for a professionally set-up cannabis plantation in her rented home in Lommel-Barrier, near the border with the Netherlands.
A Dutch man who was supervising the growth of the 700 cannabis plants, was absent and risks 2 years in prison and a fine of €8,000. Authorities discovered the site on 30 November 2022.
During investigations, the Hasselt correctional court found that the plantation had been set up when the woman renting the space had met a man at a café who offered to help pay off rent debts. The Dutch national visited her landlord, paid the arrears and even gave advances until July 2023. "One good deed deserves another," was the Dutchman’s motto, and in exchange for his 'help', the woman in Lommel agreed to have a cannabis plantation set up at the property.
Some 700 plants were housed in the basement, which was powered illegally via a branch line. The man came twice a week to maintain the plantation. It was through the transfer of rents and a photo confrontation with the landlord that the man was identified by the police. He had previous convictions for drug offences in Belgium.
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The woman was in a mentally and financially vulnerable state and had no previous convictions. Taking this into account the prosecutor agreed to defer part of the requested jail sentence. Her defence asked the court to consider community service. The verdict will follow on 15 May.
