March 26, 2020, 01:15 AM
A 45-year-old man who grew cannabis plants in his Yishun flat was sentenced to four years' jail on March 25.
Artamu Ibrahim pleaded guilty to one charge of cultivating two cannabis plants, a Class A controlled drug, another charge of consuming a controlled drug and a charge of possessing a controlled drug.
A fourth charge of possessing utensils for drug consumption was taken into consideration for sentencing.
A 52-year-old woman was also arrested at Artamu's flat, but she has not been prosecuted.
How he got arrested
Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers raided Artamu's 13th-floor flat at Block 336A, Yishun Street 31 on Sept. 9, 2019.
They found a sophisticated system of growing weed.
Officers found two small containers containing vegetable matter in the master bedroom, as well as two pots of cannabis plants in an improvised makeshift greenhouse, and numerous instruments and reagent used for cannabis cultivation.
Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers had initially detected glass apparatuses at the parcel post section of SingPost Centre and suspected them to be for smoking drugs.
Artamu was arrested.
Science lab at home
The Health Sciences Authority analysed the seized plants weighing 1.83g and 49.7g and found them to be cannabis.
The vegetable matter analysed was found to be a Class A controlled drug, a type of synthetic cannabinoid.
Artamu said he obtained information on how to grow the plants from the Internet.
Laboratory approach to cultivating cannabis in Yishun flat (Photo via CNB)
Laboratory approach to cultivating cannabis in Yishun flat (Photo via CNB)
He used fans to control the temperature in the tent for growing the plants, as well as a ventilator and humidifier for optimal conditions.
He also used light bulbs, a spotlight and LED lights to boost plant growth.
An electric timer was used to measure the timings for the fans, ventilator and lights to be turned on or off.
He also measured the humidity, temperature and soil wetness in the tent with two humidity meters, a thermometer and pH readers.
When he was out, Artamu used a camera linked to his mobile phone to monitor the meters and the cannabis plants.
Artamu provided urine samples to CNB and drugs were detected in them.
The court heard that Artamu was jailed for 10 months after he was convicted in 2006 for consumption of cannabis.
Anyone convicted of cultivating cannabis plants can be given between three and 20 years' jail, fined between S$5,000 and S$40,000, or both.
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