Man charged with cannabis factories find

Man charged with cannabis factories find

A Belfast man was charged at a special court in Omagh on Saturday in connection with the discovery of two cannabis growhouses near Pomeroy, Co Tyrone.

Moaaz Hassan was charged with cultivation and possession of cannabis, and illegally using electricty. A police witness told the court police had found 177 plants in two houses at Sperrin Cottages, Tremoge Rd. Pomeroy, on Tuesday last. Hassan had rented both houses.

“He claimed he had only subletted one of the cottages to a Polish man,” the witness said. Hassan claimed the paperwork regarding this was in offices in Dublin. A friend was responsible for collecting the rent.

The witness said Hassan had previous drugs convictions. “Our belief it that the defendant is involved in the cultivation and supply of cannabis,” he said.

Making a bail application, defence solicitor Dennis Boyd said police had been willing to release Hassan on police bail, on condition he surrender his passport. However, this cannot be found. Hassan could have fled the jurisdiction after the raid. “Would he have needed a passport to go to the Republic of Ireland?” he asked the police witness.

“Not yet,” the witness replied.

He said Hassan was an Irish citizen, born in Saudi Arabia. His family moved to the Republic when he was six months old, then moved North in 2009.

There were difficulties with establishing that Hassan had rented the houses. “The owner of the premises in travelling at the moment,” Boyd said. A girl in the offices of a property management company in Dublin said the signed copy of the lease is “in storage further south.” Locating it will take some time.

The police witness said Hassan had access to his passport recently, as he had travelled to both Egypt and Turkey. Hassan said he had it in his pocket when travelling, but now couldn't find it. He had not yet reported it as missing. “I'm still looking for it,” he said.

Objecting to bail, the police witness said police had visited the proposed bail address, his parents' home. “There was no sign of his clothes or his personal belongings in the room shown to us,” the witness said.

Judge Eamonn King granted bail to 28 year old Hassan, of Cliftonpark Ave, Belfast. There was to be a £10,000 cash lodgement, an electronic tag, and a curfew. Hassan is to appear at Dungannon Magistrates Court on June 26^th.

Note: an edited version of this piece was published in the 'Tyrone Herald' of June 17th 2019