Tylor Hernandez Brook given two-year suspended sentence for maintaining Ironside grow house

A former security guard who was left “holding the bag” when police burst into a drug house as part of Operation Ironside has been sentenced.

A ‘patsy’ who was maintaining a cannabis grow house for free rent but was sucked into the international Operation Ironside arrests, has been spared jail.

Tylor Hernandez Brook, 32, was charged with cultivating a commercial crop of cannabis as well as diverting electricity and possessing prescribed equipment.

He was arrested by police on June 7, 2021, when law enforcement agencies in Australia and the United States raided properties and arrested people across the world linked to the encrypted messaging app AN0M.

On Friday, Judge Ian Press in sentencing said the Hackham grow house that was being tended by the former security guard was the target of police scrutiny, rather than Brook himself.

Brook did not have an AN0M encrypted device and told police he had been asked to tend the cannabis crop in exchange for free rent and a small pay-off when the crop was sold.

He declined to tell police who had been running the grow house or had offered for him to stay there.

Inside the grow house raided by police. Picture: District Court.

The grow house was being tended by the former security guard. Picture: District Court.

Judge Press said 22 plants had been seized from the house in varying levels of maturity.

All were being grown in dedicated tents with hydroponic lights and watering systems in place.

Judge Press concluded the crop would be worth tens of thousands of dollars, but accepted that Brook’s payment for maintaining the crop would have been small.

“You foolishly agreed to tend the crop with little thought for the ramifications,” he said.

“You did not own the plants or the equipment.

“There is no allegation you were involved in the sale of the plants.”

During sentencing submissions last year Brook’s lawyer said his clients role had been limited.

“He was a patsy at the bottom of the ladder who was left holding the bag when the police entered the room,” he said.

The grow house itself was the target of police scrutiny, rather than Brook himself, the court heard. Picture: District Court.

Tylor Hernandez Brook outside the District court in Adelaide. Picture: David Mariuz

He was sentenced to two years in prison with a non-parole period of one year and two months.

Judge Press said that while it was important to deter others and show how serious the offending was, Brook’s early contrition led him to suspend the sentence.

Brook was one of the earliest guilty pleas linked to Operation Ironside.

Even before seeking legal advice he pleaded guilty shortly after being arrested.

More than 90 co-accused remain before the courts with the majority set to enter a plea in March this year.

The operation is far from over with three more people being charged with trafficking in 950kg of cannabis on Thursday this week.

Two of those accused will appear in court next week.