The case in summary: • Four men are charged with variously helping to run a cannabis plantation in a mountain hall in Porsgrunn.• The police found 1,016 cannabis plants when they raided the premises.• Three of the men plead guilty, while a Danish citizen claims innocent.• One of the men, in his sixties from Vestfold, claims he was threatened to take part in the production.• Two of the men are also charged with having stolen around NOK 600,000 worth of electricity in connection with the production.• The police believe there are more unknowns masterminds in the case, but have not been able to uncover who this is. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. When the police officers smelled the steam coming out of the mountain hall’s air hatches in November 2022, they had no doubts. Thus the cannabis plantation was exposed. Three out of four plead guilty to cannabis cultivation Four men are sitting on the dock in Telemark district court this week, accused of having been behind a large cannabis plantation in a residential area just outside the center of Porsgrunn. When the police raided the premises, they found a total of 1,016 plants. The premises were inside an old mountain hall behind the Civil Defense base in Porsgrunn. The hall is just over 900 square meters. Inside this hall, the shady business took place, until it was revealed in November 2022. Photo: H. Philip Hofgaard / news Three of the men plead guilty to producing the illegal drug, while the fourth man claims to be innocent. The latter is a Danish citizen. Two of the men are also charged with stealing electricity worth around NOK 600,000 in connection with the production. They deny having done this. Did not dare to pull out A man in his sixties from Vestfold admits that he procured the premises for an unknown client. He says that he did not know that the premises were to be used for the cultivation of cannabis, but that it was too late to withdraw when he became aware of what was going on. Threats of reprisals meant that he was given an increasingly central role in the production itself, and eventually had to do much of the work himself, he explains. The man also admits to having transported both food and production equipment to the hall. He is also said to have driven workers to the premises. He is clear that he does not want to say anything about anyone other than himself. At the start of the rental period, there must have been several workers working in there, but after a period they disappeared. Then the man should have been given a more central role in the production itself, he explains. – It was a nightmare to deal with, he says in court. Anders Green is defending the man. Anders Green defends the man who is accused of having provided the premises for the masterminds. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news He says that the client is having a tough time, and admitted his guilt from the start during questioning by the police. – He maintains it in court here today. Of course, he has nuances in relation to the role he has had, and he does not agree that he initially understood what was going to take place in this hall. But eventually it dawned on him, and he has taken responsibility for that, says Green. – It goes without saying that it is a tough challenge. He has also looked forward to being able to give his version and explain his handling of the case, and is prepared to take whatever sentence the court finds reasonable and fair. – Serious case The prosecutor in the case, Trond Templen Grave, says the case is serious. They are convinced that there are several unknown masterminds in the case. Trond Templen Grave, police attorney in the Sørøst police district. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news – There is information that there are supposed to be masterminds here, but the police have not been able to uncover who they are in this case, he says. The police also believe that there have been several workers in the mountain hall. Several DNA traces have been found that confirm this. – Why aren’t these workers on the dock? – The reason why they are not sitting here is that there has not been sufficient evidence to bring charges against any of those who have been suspects in that case. The three other men charged in the case will explain themselves to the court in the coming days. Published 19.08.2024, at 13.29 Updated 19.08.2024, at 14.12
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– A nightmare to keep up with – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
