The daring robbery of a £145,000 Aberdeen cannabis farm was foiled when neighbours chased the armed and masked raiders from the area.
Vytautas Dumasius was one of the gang members who plotted to rob the five-bedroom bungalow in Cove, which was being used to store nearly eight kilos of cannabis.
But the heist was stopped in its tracks when suspicious neighbours spotted balaclava-clad men – including one with a kitchen knife – crouching in a back garden.
The men fled the scene and the subsequent police investigation led to the discovery of the huge cannabis farm.
Fiscal depute Ruaridh McAlister told the court that on January 9 last year a number of residents on Cove’s Clashrodney Avenue noticed that their outdoor security lights kept going on and off.
One neighbour saw a man looking over a fence and another two wearing balaclavas and hiding in the back garden of a nearby house.
“He saw they were trying to enter the property so called the police and also notified another neighbour in the area,” Mr McAlister said.
“On receiving the call, the neighbour went to investigate and jumped over the rear garden fence of the house.
“He saw a man wearing a balaclava crouched down and holding a police-style baton.”
The robber ran off but was pursued by the neighbour who then came across another balaclava-clad man holding a six-inch kitchen knife.
He challenged them and asked them what they were doing and the man holding the baton replied: “No, what the f*** do you think you’re doing?”
Both men walked towards the neighbour before turning around and making off.
Police discover cannabis farm
Police carried out a search and while speaking to the man whose home had been targeted they discovered the large-scale cannabis cultivation operation.
Mr McAlister told the court that nearly eight kilogrammes of cannabis were found within the property. Police at the time put the value at around £145,000.
A car that had been seen in Cove shortly before the robbery attempt was traced and stopped in Aberdeen.
“There were three persons within, but the accused Vytautas Dumasius was not one of them,” Mr McAlister said.
“However, within the car the police found various items, including a screwdriver, hammer, pliers, three pairs of black gloves, seven black face masks and various sim cards.”
The day after the robbery plot had been foiled a woman was out walking near the area when she discovered a small black baseball bat wrapped in black tape and a black leather glove lying on the ground.
Another man was out walking his dog and found two black bags that contained walkie-talkies and black rubber gloves.
A number of these items were submitted for forensic examination and DNA matching Dumasius, 36, was found on one of the balaclavas.
During a police interview on June 20 last year, Dumasius told officers he had gone to the address to rob cannabis with another man and that he was to receive money as payment for the theft.
He admitted travelling to Aberdeen to carry out the robbery, adding that he purchased gloves, torches and a crowbar prior to the robbery plot.
Dumasius, of Birness Drive, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to one charge of attempted robbery.
‘An amateurish expedition’
Defence agent Stephen Grady told the court that his client had not attempted to “downplay” his role in the planned heist.
However, he said his client had been threatened to take part in the scheme by a criminal gang.
“He was out of his depth in the repayment of a debt and he was acting in art-in-part with others,” Mr Grady said.
“It was an amateurish expedition, but the gravity of this offence is not lost on the defence – it’s an extremely serious matter.”
Sheriff Graham Buchanan told Dumasius that he was satisfied that this was a “matter of such seriousness that no other disposal other than a period of imprisonment was appropriate”.
He sentenced Dumasius to a total of 18 months in prison.
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