A man who ran a drug “supermarket” out of his apartment has been jailed for 18 months.

Ki-Jah Butterfield, 32, of Warwick, was found guilty of possessing more than a kilogram of cannabis with intent to supply at Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

But he was cleared of possessing scales, scissors and a colander that were intended for use with a controlled drug.

The court heard that on August 9, 2013, Police and dog wardens attended Butterfield’s residence with a search warrant issued under the Dogs Act.

While on the property, officers saw the defendant head to the main house after locking the door of an adjacent apartment.

When they entered the apartment they noticed a strong smell of cannabis and plant material on a dresser.

Butterfield was brought back to the apartment and asked who the plant material belonged to. He replied that it was his.

He then went to the bathroom and brought back five plastic packages containing plant material from the top drawer under the sink.

The officers kept searching and recovered more packages containing plant material, as well as $4,765 in cash and the alleged drug equipment.

A total of 1,014 grammes of cannabis, which had been stored in more than 15 different packages, were recovered from various locations in the apartment. The court heard that the drugs would have had a street value of $50,700.

At a previous court appearance on September 16 last year, Butterfield was charged with the offences and pleaded not guilty.

During his trial, Butterfield, who was not represented by a lawyer, maintained his not guilty plea and stated that he had never said it was his cannabis and that he never produced the drugs from the drawer under the sink.

Magistrate Archibald Warner said: “The evidence in this case from both officers, that I have read in detail, indicates that the cannabis, totalling 1,014g, was found in various places, in various bags, in the defendant’s house, in the defendant’s presence.

“There is nothing the defendant has said, or any other evidence that causes me to doubt the veracity of the finding of the drugs in the defendant’s apartment.”

Mr Warner said he was satisfied that the defendant was not only in possession of the drugs, but that there was an intent to supply.

“You were up there running a little supermarket,” Mr Warner told Butterfield as he convicted him of possessing cannabis with intent to supply, ordering him to forfeit the seized money.

He found him not guilty of possessing the drug equipment because the charge had been drafted incorrectly.

Mr Warner sentenced Butterfield to 18 months in prison with time already served taken into account.

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