Debt-ridden Flintshire couple made hundreds of thousands growing cannabis

A drug dealing husband and wife benefited to the tune of almost £200,000 from their cannabis-growing operation, it was revealed today.

Ryan Kearney, 30, and Leah Kearney, 35, lived in a large four-bedroom house in its own grounds on the outskirts of Whitford near Holywell .

They were sentenced in December, but a financial hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act heard today that Ryan Kearney’s criminal benefit was £122,614.

That was made up of the value of the drugs, the money laundered through his bank accounts, the value of the electricity he abstracted and half the cash seized by the police.

The hearing, which was conducted in their absence at Mold Crown Court , heard the the available amount for confiscation was £6,413, which must be paid within three months or he would serve an additional three months in prison, said Judge Niclas Parry.

Leah Kearney’s criminal benefit was agreed at £74,000 – and the available amount for confiscation was £1,500.

The money was already in the possession of the police but the judge gave her 14 days to sign a disclaimer.

In December, the court heard the couple decided to sort out their debts by growing cannabis.

Police officers acting on a tip-off found the detached double garage had been converted into a sophisticated cannabis factory.

The prosecution claimed that, if all of the 150 plants – including the seedlings – reached maturity, the crop could be worth up to £250,000 on the street.

A further 2.9 kilos of harvested cannabis bud was found, and the judge said the drugs would have been worth between £60,000 and £70,000 on the street.

The couple, who rented Ty Nant Barn on the outskirts of Whitford, admitted producing cannabis over a 12-month period, possessing the drug with intent to supply and money laundering.

The husband, who also admitted abstracting almost £4,000 worth of electricity, was jailed for 28 months.

His wife received a 21-month prison sentence suspended for two years – with rehabilitation and a three month tagged curfew to remain indoors between 9pm and 7am – because she had a child to care for.

At a previous hearing Judge Rhys Rowlands said there was evidence that they were living beyond their means and were greatly in debt.

They were living in an expensive area and leasing an expensive car.

“Whatever debts you were in, you were not seeking to properly address them by cutting your cloth to live within your means,” the judge told them.

It appeared that the husband came into contact with someone who suggested “a supposedly easy way” to make money.

That led to the cultivation of cannabis at the property.