Lawyer Phillip Robert Manwarring charged over cannabis crop
A high-flying Sydney lawyer who two years ago denied allegations he used a camera and selfie-stick to spy on a neighbour will face court next month charged over a major cannabis crop discovered in the state’s Southern Highlands.
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He was the high-flying finance lawyer who strongly denied putting a camera on a giant selfie stick to peek at a woman at home in her sports bra.
Now, two years on from one of Sydney’s most toxic neighbourly disputes, Phillip Robert Manwarring stands accused of turning an idyllic Airbnb property into a cannabis farm.
The 49-year-old family man was arrested April 2 after police, “acting on information”, raided a 56ha property near Kangaroo Valley named Cloudbreaker Falls.
“Police allegedly located and seized documents and cannabis leaf from a home on the property,” a NSW Police spokeswoman said.
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“Fifty cannabis plants were allegedly found in bushland surrounding the home.”
South Coast Police District also allegedly seized hydroponic cannabis material during their raid.
Manwarring first shot to prominence in 2018 when a then 25-year-old woman, Angelica, told Ryde police she felt “scared” and “violated” when a camera operated by Manwarring appeared outside her apartment balcony.
He claimed the camera was required to monitor moving bricks while construction work was done below.
After getting dressed, she confronted Manwarring and started taking photos of him.
Manwarring claimed the woman’s family had repeatedly denied him access to their apartment — needed so workmen could carry out urgent reparation works on the building’s common property.
He claimed the camera was required to monitor moving bricks while construction work was done below.
The matter was part of a long-running dispute that ended up in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. No charges were laid.
Manwarring eventually moved out of the two Kirribilli apartments he owns.
Police said he was residing at the home in Beaumont in the Southern Highlands when the raid happened.
Manwarring was charged with cultivating an indictable quantity of cannabis.
He was granted conditional bail and is due to appear in Nowra Local Court Monday, June 15.
Manwarring declined to comment.