Mark Robert Lucieer jailed for trafficking and cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis

A judge has dismissed a drug trafficker’s theory as to how an all-female cannabis crop came to flourish in his rural glasshouse and chicken run.

More than 20 female cannabis plants grew “out of control” at a Meningie farm because they were self-seeded and “bisexual”, their convicted owner has told a court.

Mark Robert Lucieer, 60, of Meningie, appeared in the District Court of South Australia on Wednesday charged with cultivating and trafficking a commercial quantity of a controlled plant and possessing prescribed equipment and a firearm without a licence.

The court heard police found 24 female cannabis plants cultivated outdoors in three different locations, with nine in a glasshouse, three in a chicken run and 12 in a fenced area between the house and a shed, with some as tall as 2.5m.

Mark Robert Lucieer said most of his 24 cannabis plants were "bisexual". Picture: Sparky Lucieer / Facebook

Officers also found 3.6kg of dried cannabis in the house which had an estimated financial return of up to $19,000.

They also found numerous packages of suspected cannabis seeds in a freezer in the kitchen.

Judge Patrick O’Sullivan said Lucieer’s offending “was not a particularly sophisticated operation”.

“The plants were outside and only 12 were being watered,” Judge O’Sullivan said.

“You stood to receive a significant reward for your trafficking. But I accept you used some of the crop for your own addiction.

“Your offending was not an isolated transaction.”

Lucieer, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, admitted the plants were “self-seeded and had grew out of control”.

However, Judge O’Sullivan dismissed Lucieer’s claims some of the plants were bisexual when he attempted to explain their growth despite the majority being female.

“You were asked by police how many plants you had, to which you responded that you didn’t know,” he said.

“Telling them all except one had come up from seed, with the other being transplanted from another spot.

“A question arose of how the plants came to be growing in the location in which they were found.

“You maintained the plants had self-seeded.

“However, you were unable to explain why it was that all of the plants police located were female, before offering an explanation that some of the plants were bisexual.

“I did not accept your explanation.”

However, later, Lucieer confessed in an affidavit in March his explanation of the plants’ cultivation was “not entirely accurate” and while some did self-seed, “most were propagated with the intent to maximise their yield and nurtured to maturity”.

The court heard Lucieer had a “long standing issue” with cannabis and used it for pain management following a motorbike accident when he was 17.

Lucieer, a former farm hand, labourer, cleaner and truck driver, was also convicted and fined in October 2018 for producing and possessing cannabis for sale.

During the April 2 search, police also found a loaded 12 gauge double barrel shotgun and a .22 Remington rifle with two boxes of shotgun shells, for which he did not hold a licence.

Lucieer said he used the shotgun to shoot feral animals but admitted it was a “stupid error” to keep the guns which were in “poor” condition but were operational.

“There is simply no excuse for keeping a loaded firearm in your house or anywhere else,” Judge O’Sullivan said.

Lucieer was sentenced to three years, nine months and 13 days with a non-parole of two years.