In court, genuinely surprised by police estimates of profits made from his cannabis dealings, Dirk James Ladbrook failed to prove a lower figure when the High Court ordered sale of his Harley Davidson motorcycle together with a property owned in Crinan Street Invercargill being proceeds of crime as part of a $209,000 asset forfeiture order.
Ladbrook was sentenced to three years jail in 2014 for cultivating and selling cannabis. His cannabis dealing was discovered during police surveillance of the Road Knights motorcycle gang. A search of Crinan Street in October 2013 uncovered a crop of cannabis plants grown under lights in the bathroom and in two bedrooms. The power meter had been tampered with; breakers in two of the rooms caused usage to be under-recorded. Excessive power usage alerts authorities to illegal activities.
Police estimated Ladbrook was achieving a minimum of eight harvests a year with a typical harvest of twenty plants. Profits were assessed on sales at an estimated price of $400 per ounce. The Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act allows profits to be assessed on police estimates of ‘street value’ in the absence of evidence as to the actual price realised. Ladbrook failed to provide any satisfactory evidence as to the actual prices received from dealing, Justice Nation said.
Commissioner of Police v. Ladbrook – High Court (29.05.18)
18.116