A 72-YEAR-OLD cannibis grower from South Gloucestershire has been required to pay to pay a £30,000 confiscation order.

Alan Hayden-Jones, of Burley Grove, Mangotsfield, who was jailed for four years in July last year, was also responsible for handling stolen goods and threatening a witness.

The order, which was issued at Bristol Crown Court today gives Hayden-Jones three months to pay the order, or face an additional 12-month prison sentence.

Following the execution of a search warrant in April 2013, at Rushmead Holdings in Upton Cheyney, Bristol, police officers discovered a Yamaha Bruin quad bike; Yamaha Kodiak quad bike; a Brian James trailer; and an Ifor Williams flat-bed trailer – all of which had been reported stolen between May and October in 2012. 

During the search of the location officers also found 57 cannabis plants being grown in two outbuildings on the site – a wooden shed and brick building. 

Hayden-Jones was arrested, claiming he had bought the bikes and trailers in good faith.

He was subsequently charged with handling offences, abstracting electricity and cannabis production.

He was further charged with perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation and appeared at Bristol Crown Court on July 12 last year, where he was convicted of production of cannabis, handling stolen goods and witness intimidation. He was jailed for four years.

At the confiscation hearing today benefit of £30,000 was identified and an order made for the same amount. 

After the hearing, Dr Kirstie Cogram, Avon and Somerset police financial investigation unit manager, said: "We are committed to seizing any assets that criminals have gained as a result of crime.

“It is not acceptable that criminals benefit from illegal activities and we will relentlessly pursue them through the courts to ensure their money is taken.

“By doing this we show criminals that they will not benefit from crime and hopefully deter others from entering a life of crime."

A 72-YEAR-OLD drugs farmer from South Gloucestershire has been required to pay to pay a £30,000 confiscation order.

Alan Hayden-Jones, of Burley Grove, Mangotsfield, was jailed for four years in July last year for growing cannabis, handling stolen goods and threatening a witness.

The order, which was issued at Bristol Crown Court today gives Hayden-Jones three months to pay the order, or face an additional 12-month prison sentence.

Following the execution of a search warrant in April 2013, at Rushmead Holdings in Upton Cheyney, Bristol, police officers discovered a Yamaha Bruin quad bike; Yamaha Kodiak quad bike; a Brian James trailer; and an Ifor Williams flat-bed trailer – all of which had been reported stolen between May and October in 2012. 

During the search of the location officers also found 57 cannabis plants being grown in two outbuildings on the site – a wooden shed and brick building. 

Hayden-Jones was arrested, claiming he had bought the bikes and trailers in good faith.

He was subsequently charged with handling offences, abstracting electricity and cannabis production.

He was further charged with perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation and appeared at Bristol Crown Court on July 12 last year, where he was convicted of production of cannabis, handling stolen goods and witness intimidation. He was jailed for four years.

At the confiscation hearing today benefit of £30,000 was identified and an order made for the same amount. 

After the hearing, Dr Kirstie Cogram, Avon and Somerset police financial investigation unit manager, said: "We are committed to seizing any assets that criminals have gained as a result of crime.

“It is not acceptable that criminals benefit from illegal activities and we will relentlessly pursue them through the courts to ensure their money is taken.

“By doing this we show criminals that they will not benefit from crime and hopefully deter others from entering a life of crime."