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| Drugs raid crash pilot imprisoned | Drugs raid crash pilot imprisoned |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A light aircraft pilot who was arrested for cultivating cannabis following an investigation into a plane crash has been jailed. | A light aircraft pilot who was arrested for cultivating cannabis following an investigation into a plane crash has been jailed. |
| Sidney Clark, 49, of Tonbridge Road, Barming, Kent, was given a 51-month sentence at Maidstone Crown Court. | |
| Clark was charged after a raid on his home three days after a Cessna 172 aircraft he was flying crash-landed in a garden in Lyminge in February 2008. | Clark was charged after a raid on his home three days after a Cessna 172 aircraft he was flying crash-landed in a garden in Lyminge in February 2008. |
| After failing to attend court, he was found growing cannabis in Somerset. | |
| Clark pleaded guilty to one count of production of cannabis, two counts of possession of cannabis and one count of abstraction of electricity at an earlier hearing. | |
| Sentencing, Judge Charles Macdonald described him as a "persistent drugs trafficker." | |
| He added: "This was a commercial operation of which you were the main organiser". | |
| 'Commercial gain' | 'Commercial gain' |
| He was initially arrested following a Kent Police and Civil Aviation Authority investigation into the crash. | He was initially arrested following a Kent Police and Civil Aviation Authority investigation into the crash. |
| The plane, which was carrying a passenger who was a prisoner on day release from jail, crashed on 23 February after taking off from Rochester Airport. | The plane, which was carrying a passenger who was a prisoner on day release from jail, crashed on 23 February after taking off from Rochester Airport. |
| The light aircraft crashed in a garden in Lyminge in February last year | The light aircraft crashed in a garden in Lyminge in February last year |
| Speaking to BBC South East Today shortly after the crash Clark said he had mistaken a roof for a ploughed field. | |
| Officers discovered cannabis plants and hydroponics equipment in a locked room, the loft and the linen cupboard in Clark's house. | Officers discovered cannabis plants and hydroponics equipment in a locked room, the loft and the linen cupboard in Clark's house. |
| A warrant was issued for his arrest in February after he failed to appear at a hearing at Maidstone Crown Court. | A warrant was issued for his arrest in February after he failed to appear at a hearing at Maidstone Crown Court. |
| He was then arrested during a raid on a house in Shepton Mallet on 17 April. About 200 mature cannabis plants were found at the property, which Clark rented. | He was then arrested during a raid on a house in Shepton Mallet on 17 April. About 200 mature cannabis plants were found at the property, which Clark rented. |
| The court heard Clark had previously spent 17 years in foreign prisons, with some sentences for the possession of drugs. | |
| Det Con Chris Da'Ardenne, from Kent Police, said: "Clark tried to evade justice since his arrest and I am pleased today he has received a just sentence for his crime. | Det Con Chris Da'Ardenne, from Kent Police, said: "Clark tried to evade justice since his arrest and I am pleased today he has received a just sentence for his crime. |
| "The volume of cannabis plants found at his home showed more than just personal use and was in fact for commercial gain." | "The volume of cannabis plants found at his home showed more than just personal use and was in fact for commercial gain." |
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| Drugs raid crash pilot imprisoned |
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