$260,000 CANNABIS IN PENSIONERS' HOME - CLAIM

Boxes of cannabis found in an elderly couple's roof had a street value of
$264,000, a District Court jury was told yesterday.

Police found almost 19kg of marijuana stashed above a false ceiling in the
Carlisle home of David William Sidney Davies, 81, and his 77-year-old widfe
Florence Gladys Davies during a raid in August 2002. The pair are defending
two counts of possessing cannabis with intent to sell or supply.

Police witnesses testified that the bulk of the drugs had been separated
into one-ounce bags. A police sniffer dog also found more than 300g of
cannabis inside an ice-cream container under the couple's bed.

The prosecution is alleging the couple agreed to hide the illicit
substances in their home for their son, Tyssoll Davies, 52, who the court
was told had pleaded guilty to similar charges arising from the same
incident in October 2002.

State prosecutor Paul Dixon said, earlier in the case, the son paid his
parents $7000 for their co-operation. But the couple told police they had
been setting aside the money from their pension for an overseas holiday.

Mrs Davies admitted to police during the raid that she smoked the marijuana
found under her bed to relieve chronic back pain. But both denied
knowledge of the drugs in the roof.

The couple are expected to give evidence when the trial resumes tomorrow.