Kristina Dereviankina in court for growing 22kg of cannabis
A former bartender and carer has faced court after almost 22kg of marijuana plants were found growing in a sophisticated hydroponic set-up on a Gympie property.
Police & Courts
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A 34-year-old woman was placed on two years probation by the Gympie District Court on Friday after she pleaded guilty to producing and possessing cannabis.
Kristina Dereviankina, an aspiring nurse, told police she did not have any dangerous drugs before they searched her property in December 2021, the court heard.
Police then found three shipping containers on the property; two had been “converted into a sophisticated hydroponic set-up” with systems that aided in the “cultivation of healthy mature cannabis plants,” crown prosecutor Michael Andronicus said.
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In total, 28 plants of varying heights and maturity were found in the containers weighing about 22kg, along with another 507g of loose cannabis on the ground, Mr Andronicus said.
“It is somewhat contradictory, but I understand that if any commercial purpose was used, it was the co-defendant who was the beneficiary,” he said.
“I understand it has all the hallmarks of a commercial enterprise.
“She told the police that she grew cannabis purely for personal use to use as an alternative way to treat her ongoing health condition.”
Defence barrister Simone Bain claimed the nature of Dereviankina’s relationship “put her into a position where she agreed to have the shipping containers on her property”.
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Dereviankina was studying a diploma of community service and had “put herself on a very positive path towards recovery,” Ms Bain told the court.
Dereviankina was originally from the Ukraine and obtained Australian citizenship in 2020, the court heard.
“The position obviously is that no evidence was found to prove actual supplies,” Judge Glenn Cash said.
He accepted Ms Dereviankina’s involvement in the commercial enterprise was to permit her former partner to set up and run the operation on her property, but she was not involved in the commercial exploitation of the drug.
He sentenced her to two years probation.
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Originally published as Kristina Dereviankina in court for growing 22kg of cannabis
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