Couple jailed for 'Cali weed' cafe with fees for members

'INFLUENCER' AND PARTNER RAN JOINT CAFE' WITH BAR AND 1,788 MEMBERS

- ANDREW BARDSLEY

A CANNABIS 'influencer' and his drug connoisseur' partner ran a cafe brazenly selling imported American 'Cali weed' from a 'highly sophisticated' industrial unit.

Ben Gardner, 36, and his then partner, Zoe Chrysanthou, 31, have both been jailed after the 'commercial' operation in Cheetham Hill was discovered by police.

Manchester Crown Court heard the unit was transformed into the 'Joint Cafe, where members paid a £40 fee to gain access.

As well as using cannabis, members could enjoy a bar serving food and drink and entertainment including pool tables and games consoles.

Gardner, who was said to be a cannabis 'influencer, was involved in promoting the cafe on social media.

Chrysanthou flew out to California to arrange for the importation of Cali weed to be served at the premises.

When police happened upon the cafe, which had almost 1,800 paying members, they discovered about 70 people inside as many tried to flee.

A judge said the cafe was a 'determined and flagrant breach' of drugs laws, 'designed to generate thousands of pounds of profit. "For all intents and purposes, this was a highly sophisticated commercial operation dealing with the sale of cannabis to customers, much in the same way that lawful cafes and bars sell their wares," Judge John Potter said.

Gardner and Chrysanthou's lawyers both appealed for the pair to be spared jail, citing the 'devastating' effect it could have on their five-year-old child.