Ben Paul Johnson, 41, from Greenbank in Beenleigh Court for dealing cannabis

A Logan cannabis dealer’s sophisticated, homegrown set-up and unusual arrangement has been revealed, where he traded kilograms of pot for methamphetamine and sex.

Ben Paul Johnson, 41, was sentenced in Beenleigh District Court for dealing cannabis

A Logan cannabis dealer’s sophisticated, homegrown set-up and unusual arrangement has been revealed, where he traded kilograms of pot for methamphetamine and sex.

When police searched Ben Paul Johnson’s Greenbank home on February 20, they discovered two sophisticated hydroponic cannabis rooms, heard Beenleigh District Court.

He had 89 cannabis plants containing 19kg of the drug, 1.4kg of small cuttings and stems and 468 grams of dried cannabis.

The 41-year-old Logan City Council worker was also found with 1.73g of methamphetamine.

Johnson pleaded guilty on October 20 to two counts of possession of a dangerous drug, one count of producing a dangerous drug of more than 500 grams and possession of property suspected of being used in the commission of a drug offence.

The court heard Johnson was not smoking the product himself but was growing it purely for commercial use over a three-month period.

He started with two crops which he planted in 2021 as a hobby and it developed into a complex set-up with an irrigation system and hydroponic grow rooms.

The court heard Johnson would swap the drug for meth and sex and his offending coincided with the breakdown of his marriage and career in 2021.

Johnson previously ran his own business, which he formed in 2008 and had 20 employees, but closed in 2021 due to an employee allegedly stealing money from him.

Judge Deborah Holiday acknowledged that Johnson was typically a law-abiding citizen and had limited criminal history.

“You are usually a contributing member of society and a sentence of imprisonment is a last resort here,” she said.

“I need to sentence you to deter others and the community from this type of offending.”

Johnson was sentenced to 15 months prison, wholly suspended for 15 months.