A teenager has been given a 12-month conditional discharge for possessing cannabis over a year after he committed the offence.

Kai Wannenburgh pleaded guilty to possessing £1,227 worth of the class B drug.

Magistrates also ordered the 17-year-old to pay £50 prosecution costs.

Prosecuting advocate Roger Kane told the court that police were called a property where Wannenburgh was living on November 10 last year.

A smell of cannabis was coming from his room but the teenager was not present.

Police entered and a search found 41 grams of cannabis, which they valued at £1,227.

The teenager was later arrested and during a police interview handed in a prepared statement saying he smoked the drug over a long period of time so had bought it in bulk for personal use only.

Mr Kane said that the case had taken so long to come to court because there had initially been a police investigation into whether there had been any possession with intent to supply or money laundering as cash was also found, but there had been no further charges.

Mr Kane said that the teenager had previously been subject to the drug arrest referral scheme so there had been no alternative to this offence coming to court.

Defence advocate David Clegg said that the offence had occurred while his client was still a juvenile and if it had not taken so long to come to court, he would have appeared before a juvenile court.

‘He has had this hanging over him for nearly 13 months,’ said the advocate.

‘He is only 17, but we would submit that a person of that age is not much more of an adult than when they were 16.’

Mr Clegg said that the police were due to return the cash found to his client.

Magistrates chair David Christian said: ‘We have taken into account this has been hanging over you for a considerable amount of time.’

Wannenburgh, who lives at Mona Street, Douglas, was also ordered to pay £50 prosecution costs.