Cannabis Plantations Next to Cemetery and in the Countryside: Three Convictions

It was about two cannabis plantations on Tuesday in a trial at the Vienna Regional Court. A 59-year-old had initially rented a house with sufficient space in a village in the Weinviertel (Korneuburg district) in the summer of 2024, deliberately choosing a property located directly next to a cemetery. The man hoped this would allow for an undisturbed operation of his indoor plantation. However, this turned out to be a mistake, as he now explained.

"There were funerals every day. There were a lot of people there."

"There were funerals every day. There were a lot of people there. That's why I gave it up." He looked for a quieter location and found one in a market town in Mistelbach, where he set up a second plantation on a property. Everything went well there until the police got wind of the matter and conducted court-approved searches at both addresses on January 23. Over 700 flowering cannabis plants were discovered in the second plantation, while 337 specimens thrived next to the cemetery. The 59-year-old and two gardeners he employed were arrested.

Switched due to "financial crisis"

Regularly, the 59-year-old ran a craft business. However, business was bad, so he switched and came up with the idea of growing cannabis plants, which he intended to sell profitably after harvest. "There was a financial crisis. That's why I started it," he confessed to a jury. For the locations of his plantations, he sought properties in rural, quiet areas that seemed suitable for undisturbed operation. He rented the houses under false names. As a trained electrician, the 59-year-old also tapped into the electricity by manipulating the meter, saving costs.

As a gardener, the 59-year-old employed a 37-year-old in one plantation who was in urgent need of money, who managed the facility for 1,000 euros and room and board. "There were some flower pots, boxes, small plants. He showed me how to water the flowers and irrigate them with a hose," the 37-year-old described to the court. Only when the plants thrived and grew taller did he realize he was dealing with cannabis. "I have never seen anything like this. I have always lived decently. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life," claimed the defendant, represented by Anita Schattner.

For the second plantation, the 59-year-old was able to recruit a 31-year-old who already had several previous convictions under the Narcotic Drugs Act. "I have been smoking relatively large amounts of marijuana for ten years," the 31-year-old explained to the jury. Therefore, he took on the job as a gardener. "He did it exclusively for personal use," said his defenders Alexander Philipp and Mathias Burger. Their client was promised 500 grams to one kilogram from the harvest.

Judgments already final

The previously unblemished 59-year-old received a two-year prison sentence, with eight months unconditional. The 37-year-old received 15 months, with five months unconditional. The repeatedly convicted second gardener was sentenced to two years unconditional. The judgments under the Narcotic Drugs Act are final.

(APA/Red)

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