Annesley Woodhouse builder 'lost everything' after turning to drug dealing

Steven Unwin's silver Ford S-Max was stopped in the Nuthall area of the A610 after an officer spotted him talking on a mobile phone in November, 2017, prosecutor Tom Heath said.

When asked if there was anything in his car that shouldn't be there, he replied: "Yes. A lot of cannabis."

The officer found a large bag and a bin liner containing the Class B drug, valued at £3,500-£5,000, as well as a pH meter, weedkiller, and £310 in cash.

When his home was searched, police found cash in the fridge and a ‘sophisticated’ cannabis grow in the garage.

Around 2.38 kilos of amphetamine, with a ‘high purity’ of 15-15 per cent and an estimated value of £10,000-£17,000, was found in the freezer.

In total, the raid uncovered cannabis worth as much as £47,300, depending on how it was sold.

Text messages on his phone indicated drug dealing, Mr Heath said, along with advice on how to set up a similar ‘grow’.

When he was interviewed, Unwin said he set the grow up six months earlier and was holding the amphetamine for someone else. An application under the Proceeds of Crime Act will be heard on July 23.

Nottingham Crown Court heard he had no previous convictions at the time, and the 41-month delay was not his fault.

Paul Wright, mitigating, said: "He was to all intents and purposes a hardworking man running his own construction business, but it hit difficult times and he fell into financial difficulties. He was a user of recreational drugs and had some contacts in that world."

He said police arrested Unwin's partner, who was not involved, and that ‘signalled the end of their relationship’.

"He admitted it at the first opportunity. He has known this day would come. It's been a long and difficult wait for him."

Unwin, 36, of Sherwood Street, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cannabis and amphetamine, and production of cannabis, on February 12, last year.

Recorder Cameron Crowe sentenced him to two years, suspended for 48 months, with 15 rehabilitation days and 120 hours of unpaid work.

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