Drug-control officers in Sevastopol detained a 35-year-old local resident who was growing cannabis.[1][2] A criminal case was opened against the detainee on attempted sale and unlawful cultivation of drug-containing plants.[1] He was remanded in custody.[1][2]

Officers found cannabis beds on his household plot, plus rooms fitted out for raising seedlings and drying mature plants.[1][2] They seized a total of 27 bushes, about 2.8 kilograms of harvested crop and 180 grams of finished marijuana.[1][2] Four packets of shortbread cookies were in his freezer, and the man admitted they also contained marijuana.[1]

He had built a greenhouse beside a private house to grow cannabis, screening the bushes from sun and onlookers with green netting.[3] He had fitted out a seedling hothouse and a drying area in outbuildings.[3] Officers also seized growing equipment, a mobile phone and baked goods with the cannabis.[3] Testing confirmed the plants contained narcotic substances, while the cookies were still being examined.[3] He admitted adding cannabis to the sweets and shared the recipe with police, calling four kilograms of cookies his winter stock.[3] He faces 10 to 20 years of imprisonment.[3]