Police found more than $125,000 in cash and almost 80 cannabis plants at a property northwest of Dunolly, a court has heard.
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Officers discovered the cash and the crop at Max Peter Symons' Cochranes Creek home in December 2019 after attending to arrest him in relation to other alleged offences.
The 31-year-old lived on the same property as his father but in separate residences, and for the six to seven months leading up to his arrest, he had forbidden his father from entering his home or the shed behind it.
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When police officers attended Symons' home on December 15, they noticed a strong smell of cannabis coming from a shed.
They obtained a search warrant and found a hydroponic set-up with a large crop of plants.
Inside the home itself they discovered cannabis drying on the floor of a bedroom, cannabis growing in a hydroponic set-up in a second bedroom, $125,850 cash bundled together with sticky tape, in a backpack hidden in an oven, and four containers filled with loose cannabis.
Officers also found cannabis plants that had been pulled out of a vegetable patch in front of Symons' father's home - his father had tried to remove them after telling Symons to take them out, but Symons told him to stop.
In total, more than 82.6 kilograms of cannabis was found.
Symons told police after his arrest that "everything and anything cannabis-related is mine", but made no comment when asked specifically about the crops or the cash.
Symons, a sheet metal fabricator, pleaded guilty in the County Court this year to cultivating a commercial quantity of a narcotic plant and dealing with property suspected of being the proceeds of crime.
Defence lawyer Julien Lowy told the court this month that Symons' situation as a child was "close to abandonment" and he had little contact with his family.
"[His] history of disadvantage is important, in my submission, Your Honour," Mr Lowy said.
He submitted his client - who was in custody - ought to be put on a community corrections order after release, due to his good work history, his lack of prior offences, and the lack of drug treatment and support in his adult life.
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"This offending was directly linked to his drug use, and if we can target his drug use then we'll see a substantial reduction in his risk of reoffending," Mr Lowy said.
Crown prosecutor Ashleigh Harrold said the offending was mid-range in terms of seriousness and Symons' moral culpability was high.
Ms Harrold said a term of imprisonment was appropriate.
Symons will be sentenced later this week.
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