A wealthy landlord, who also ran a fake lettings agency, has been jailed for 11 years for allowing ‘ghost tenants’ to operate drug factories
Jeremy Southgate, 63, faked tenancies from his agency to cover up 17 cannabis factories at a range of houses, producing a crop with an estimated street value of £8.7m.
Southgate was said in court to own some 70 other properties in Hull producing a "vast legitimate income" but he fraudulently obtained two Covid bounce-back loans by overestimating his legitimate rental income.
Southgate, from Bridlington, was convicted last month after a nine week trial: he was sentenced this week.
The Hull Daily Mail reports that the court heard how Southgate began conspiring with an Eastern European organised crime group in September 2019, allowing properties that he owned to be taken over to become cannabis farms over a two-year period.
The total amount of cannabis produced was estimated at 911.46kg, with a wholesale value of £4,385,925 or a street value of £8,766,038.
The newspaper reports Judge Mark Bury telling Hull Crown Court that Southgate owned "a significant amount of property" in Hull.
Judge Bury told the landlord/agent: "You were the owner of properties where there were 17 grows over a two-year period. Your role was that, not only did you own the properties, you from time to time checked on them and you went about concealing, or seeking to conceal, these various grows by putting 'ghost tenants' in the properties.”
You can see the full story here. https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/hull-landlord-vast-income-70-9079980
Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions.
If any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.
Please help us by reporting comments you consider to be unduly offensive so we can review and take action if necessary. Thank you.
.jpg)
%20(002).png)
.png)
Join the conversation
Jump to latest comment and add your reply
Bridlington again, those lads had a bit of airtime yesterday for a dodgy landlord... Must be something in the air in Bridlington.
Good! 😡 I cannot stand drug dealers. 🤬
Neither can I but he was forced into it by the S24, S21 and RRB
Please login to comment