A Penticton man has been sentenced to nine months in jail for a marijuana grow operation discovered by RCMP on his property.
Luciano Michael Sanga pled guilty to production of a controlled substance and was sentenced on Monday at the Penticton provincial courthouse by Judge Gale Sinclair.
In March 2012, the Penticton RCMP Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at 333 White Lake Road and discovered a marijuana grow operation in the basement of an outbuilding on the property owned by Sanga. Mounties found 298 plants and marijuana growing equipment.
At the time, no one was living in the residence, and the court heard RCMP found Sanga on the property with a pair of scissors in his pocket and said he smelled strongly of marijuana. Crown counsel Nick Lerfold told the court it was estimated the plants would have a street value of $40,000 to $50,000 at maturity.
A single charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking was dropped by Crown counsel.