Drug raider hunted down by police dogs after bungled attempt on cannabis farm in Leeds village
Drug raiders were hunted down by police dogs after attempting to steal a secret cannabis farm growing in village storage yard.
Daniel Morton was one of “three of four men” who tried to cut their way into a metal container on Sherwood Industrial Estate in Robin Hood, south of Leeds.
But after the alarm was raised, the men scattered and Morton and another were eventually traced by police dogs to a nearby back garden.
Leeds Crown Court heard that a member of the public called the police late at night on December 8, 2022 after spotting several males using an angle grinder to get into a container on the site.
On arrival, officers spotted Morton behind the wheel of a white Ford Transit van. He tried to make off but then got out and ran. The other men then ran.
One was detained after he fell in a ditch, while Morton and a third man were tracked to the back garden on Maltings Close.
Morton was found to have gloves and a balaclava on him and smelled strongly of cannabis.
The container was found to have been full of cannabis plants, which the gang had clearly targeted, the court heard.
Morton, now 29, admitted a charge of non-dwelling burglary. He has six previous convictions for seven offences dated from 2014 to 2024. This includes handling stolen goods and two for aggravated vehicle taking.
A probation report found that Morton, of Carleton Crest, Pontefract, was now working as a manager for a property company.
Mitigating, Lydia Carroll said: “I have to concede he has record of similar offending. The best mitigation is that this can be seen as a blip.
“He seems to have turned his life around. He now has stable employment as a project manager.”
No further mitigation was offered after Judge Simon Batiste said he would give him a chance.
He told Morton that it was a “carefully planned and highly professional” raid for the illegal cannabis farm, but said he would be “prepared to suspend the inevitable sentence”.
He gave him 10 months’ jail, suspended for two years, with 100 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation days with probation.
For the two other men caught, one was previously jailed while the other received a community order, the court heard.