A man who kept a “substantial cannabis cultivation” in his flat was caught after firefighters smashed into his house.
Firefighters from Balmossie Fire Station broke down the front door of Grant Fyffe’s house after receiving a 999 call.
On their arrival, there was no reply but smoke alarms were sounding.
Firefighters then found the cannabis growing in a spare bedroom at the deserted flat.
The smoke alarms had been activated by a water leak in the flat, Dundee Sheriff Court heard.
Fyffe, 37, realised the game was up when he cycled home from work and found his flat cordoned off by police.
He admitted producing cannabis at his flat in Gray Street, Broughty Ferry, on December 14 2016.
Fiscal depute Sue Ruta told the court that the fire service received an emergency call from a concerned resident at around 2.30pm.
The neighbour had reported all the smoke alarms in the accused’s flat repeatedly going off over a prolonged period.
Balmossie firefighters attended and could hear the alarms, so when there was no reply at the door they forced entry.
However, the flat was found to be unoccupied and their investigations revealed a water leak in the living room had short-circuited a smoke alarm.
During the search of the rest of the flat, firefighters came across several cannabis plants growing in what they called a “substantial cannabis cultivation”.
Police were contacted and they confirmed it was a “major cultivation.”
The accused returned to his flat at 5.30pm that day, having cycled from work.
When he approached the flat, he spotted a police officer and immediately became “apprehensive and nervous and asked why the police were in attendance”, the fiscal added.
He was told to sit down on the stairs of the close and gave written permission for a search of the premises.
A later search of the premises by a police sniffer dog revealed several “indications” of cannabis in the living room as well as the spare bedroom.
Sheriff Alastair Brown deferred sentence on Fyffe for reports and a restriction of liberty order assessment and granted him bail.
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