Swansea man sentenced for importing cannabis products in 'highly unusual case'
A Swansea man who was illegally importing wholesale quantities of cannabis material for sale in the UK has been sentenced in what judges have called "a highly unusual case".Luke Steven Derwood Datson believed he did not need a licence to ship cannabis goods from Luxembourg.
When police went to his house he told them he was only doing what Holland & Barrett do and asked, "Why aren't they going down?"Datson maintained his innocence up to his trial at Swansea Crown Court but at the conclusion of the prosecution case changed his plea to guilty to possession with intent to supply and to importation offences.A judge described it as an unusual case and said what the defendant was importing and selling seemed to be "a medicinal product rather than a drug of abuse" and that it would be inappropriate to deal with him like a cannabis dealer.During the trial, the court heard Datson was importing cannabis from a company in Luxembourg called Greene Brothers which he was then selling to customers via his website.Dean Pulling, prosecuting, told the court the trade came to light in March 2019 when a parcel addressed to the defendant opened at the UPS courier depot in Neath and the contents were revealed 13kg of leaf and bud cannabis.Police were alerted and on April 20 officers went to Datson's house in Swansea where they found cannabidiol (CBD) oil products and boxes containing bags of cannabis.
The court heard the 32-year-old defendant's cautioned reply to officers was: "This is the same stuff Holland & Barrett sell. Why aren't they going down?"A further package destined for Datson was intercepted by UPS couriers in May and was collected from the depot by South Wales Police.Datson maintained his position that as the material he was buying had a level of the active ingredient THC of less than 0.2% he did not need a licence to import it during his subsequent interviews and court appearances.However, at the conclusion of the prosecution case at his trial, the judge gave a ruling that the defendant had no defence in law and Datson was re-arraigned and changed his pleas.
On that occasion the judge indicated he would sentence the defendant on the basis that hehad genuinely believed he did not need a licence for what he was doing.Datson, of Sardis Close, Waunarlwydd, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of an offence contrary to section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 and to possession of cannabis with intent to supply when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.Michael McGarvey, for Datson, said the facts of the case were "very unusual".
Judge Christopher Vosper QC said the defendant described himself as a supplier of CBD products and had effectively been buying in bulk from Greene Brothers before repackaging the products and selling them on.He said while there was information on the internet which said no licence was needed for importing such material that was not the case and what Datson had been doing was unlawful.
Although he said it was accepted the defendant had apparently believed it was legal and had taken steps "consistent with that belief" such as sending samples of the material he had received in the post for testing at a specialist lab.
The judge said: "This is a highly unusual case in that you thought what you were doing was lawful. You took steps to confirm the level of THC.
"You were buying from a seemingly reputable supplier. It would not be appropriate, it seems to me, to treat you in the same way a cannabis dealer."Judge Vosper added he had read letters and references from customers of Datson who said they had benefited from taking the products being sold by the defendant and what he had been selling "seems a medicinal product rather than a drug of abuse".Datson was sentenced to a total of nine months in prison suspended for 12 months.