GREED was the downfall of a family who grew drugs and laundered money to "live in a way beyond the means of most", according to a senior detective.
Two of them have been locked up for three years – James Smith, 45, a retained firefighter, and his stepson Zak Usher, 31.
Yvette Smith, 49, the wife of Smith and mother of Usher, received a six-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and was ordered to do 80 hours' unpaid work in the community for converting criminal property into cash to pay off the mortgage at the family home in Oxford Street, Cleethorpes.
Grimsby Crown Court heard a police swoop shortly after 8am on May 24 last year led to the discovery of nearly 90 cannabis plants.
Police also found bank documents and two Audi R8s, watches, designer clothing, jewellery, computers and seized more than £18,000 in cash.
After the sentencing of the three family members, Detective Constable Andrew Langton, of Humberside Police, said: "This was a case where family members with previous good character, and with positions in life many in the local area would envy, became greedy, leading to their downfall.
"They are a close family who had good legitimate incomes but this proved to be insufficient for them.
"They chose to turn to criminality in order to amass a large amount of money and valuable assets, living in a way beyond the means of most."
He added:" As a result of their activities they have been suitably sentenced and will now have to forfeit a large amount of money, in addition to the loss of other assets and their good character and standing in the community.
"Hopefully, this case will highlight to others the major pitfalls of engaging in criminality in our area. Humberside Police will continue to make full use of the powers available to us to tackle serious and organised crime."
Both Smith and Usher admitted cultivating cannabis and converting criminal property.
Yvette Smith admitted converting criminal property to partly pay off the mortgage of the family home.
Prosecuting, Patrick Palmer said police raided the Victorian family home and found 86 cannabis plants in an out house. The keys to the out house were in a box in the hallway of the home.
Mr Palmer said the yield was about 3.78 kilos and had the potential for an annual yield with a street value of about £100,000.
However, Judge Mark Bury said he accepted the cultivation was limited to just one crop.
Mr Palmer said during the search of the property, officers discovered bank documents which proved the family had converted criminal property.
He said the benefits each had received amounted to £229,983 for James Smith, who he described as "the leading player".
Following Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings, Smith was ordered to pay £169,546 within 14 months.
Zak Usher benefited with criminal property worth £238,124 and has to pay £66,643. His mum earned £38,363 and will have to pay £26,723 within 15 months or face going to jail.
The judge warned all three the payments had to be made within the time ordered, and even if they served time in prison they would still have to pay the same amounts when they came out.
For James Smith, Andrew Bailey said his client had suffered a "massive fall from grace" as someone who worked as a retained firefighter saving the lives of people who were trapped in burning buildings.
He said his client was also responsible for rescuing people from trapped cars involved in collisions, with the risk of explosions.
Mr Bailey said his client had also raised money for St Andrew's Hospice by taking part in cage fighting events.
Mr Bailey said: "He has lost it all. He has brought shame on himself and his family . He accepts the fault for that.
"He had an excellent job at Cristal (factory) where he had worked for 16 years. Even though he was making good money he was living beyond his means."
The barrister said the grand house had been bought with a large mortgage.
For Usher, Megan Rhys said her client had worked as a roofer since leaving school .
She said he had "learnt his lesson."
For Yvette Smith, Craig Lowe agreed with the judge's suggestion the sentence could be suspended.
Judge Bury said the three years in jail for Smith and Usher was made up of 20 months for the drugs offence and 16 months for converting criminal property.
He ordered the destruction of the drugs equipment seized in the raid.
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