A cannabis ‘influencer’ and his drugs ‘expert’ partner ran a cafe shamelessly selling American ‘Cali weed’ imported from a ‘highly sophisticated’ Cheetham Hill industrial unit. Ben Gardner, 36, and his then partner Zoe Chrysanthou, 31, were jailed after the ‘commercial’ operation was discovered by police.
Manchester Crown Court heard that the unit had been converted into a ‘Communal Café’, which members paid a £40 fee to access. As well as using cannabis, members could enjoy a bar serving food and drink and entertainment such as pool tables and games consoles.
Gardner, a so-called cannabis ‘influencer’, has taken to social media to promote the cafe, with Chrysanthou flying to California to arrange for the import of Cali weed to be served at the establishment.
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When police came across the cafe, which has around 1,800 paid-up members, they discovered there were around 70 people inside, many of whom were trying to escape. A judge said the cafe was a ‘determined and flagrant breach’ of drug laws and was ‘designed to make thousands of pounds in profits’. ‘By all accounts, this was a highly sophisticated commercial operation involving the sale of cannabis to customers, in the same way that legitimate cafes and bars sell their wares,’ Judge John Potter said.
Lawyers for Gardner and Chrysanthou had applied for the pair to be spared jail time, citing the “devastating” impact it could have on their five-year-old child, but Judge Potter sentenced them to 31 months and 27 months respectively.
Prosecutors said the cafe first came onto the police radar in November 2018 after officers spotted two men leaving an industrial unit on Knowsley Street in Cheetham Hill. After stopping the men, they were found to be in possession of cannabis.
Prosecutor Harriet Lavin said officers were ‘overwhelmed’ by the smell of drugs when they entered the unit. They arrested around 70 people inside, many of whom were seen trying to escape via various fire exits.
Those arrested by police were from all over the north west. One was from Ireland. Police later discovered that the unit was home to a commercial club, the ‘Common Café’. The operators had signed a ten-year lease after paying a £3,000 deposit.
The unit cost £25,000 per year to rent. Customers paid between £30 and £40 for membership, which gave them access to the café. It included a bar serving food and drink, pool tables and games consoles, and used a ‘very sophisticated’ evacuation system. The Joint Café had 1,788 members in total.
When police seized a phone, they discovered a weekly work schedule for staff working at the cafe, a menu detailing the different strains of cannabis available and a list of members. Zoe Chrysanthou flew to California in June 2018 when the cafe first opened, at a time when there was a “business need for imported Cali weed”, Ms Lavin said.
A WhatsApp group chat set up by Gardner was also discovered, which allowed officers to identify others involved in the incident. Those behind the club had used social media to ‘openly announce’ its existence, with its Instagram account having around 10,000 followers.
The account posted about being ‘shut down’, adding: “Pigs can’t shut us down and neither can IG.” It was also revealed that they are in the process of opening a second cafe in another unit in Cheetham Hill.
The judge said the business was run by Gardner and his then partner Zoe Chrysanthou, who introduced herself to police as a “cannabis expert”, had previously earned modest incomes as a hairdresser but was at one point earning up to £8,000 a month.
Luke Chrysanthou, 25, who appeared in the dock alongside the pair, worked at the cafe at least 97 times. Andrew Bravender, 37, was another employee who was responsible for recruiting new members and sometimes worked behind the bar.
Police seized around 2.6kg of cannabis worth £29,000 as part of their investigation. Defending Gardner, Adam Lodge said the defendant accepted his involvement at a ‘managerial’ level.
He said Gardner got involved after being approached because he was a cannabis ‘influencer’ and was seen as a ‘good person’ at ‘getting people through the door’. Mr Lodge said Gardner was now a ‘very different person’, having become a father and gaining a qualification in IT with the hope of working in that field.
David Bentley, for Zoe Chrysanthou, said she was pregnant with Gardner’s child at the time of the offences. He claimed she was ‘vulnerable’ because of her circumstances and that she had acted at the direction of her former partner.
He said Chrysanthou denied any involvement in the day-to-day running of the cafe and was not on the WhatsApp group. Mr Bentley said Chrysanthou had debts and physical and mental health problems. He said it would be ‘devastating’ for her children if both she and her former partner were sent to prison.
Andy Scott, defending Bravender, said the defendant’s “deep-rooted” cannabis addiction was his “devil” and that he had been using the drug since he was 14. Alaric Walmsley, for Luke Chrysanthou, said his client had an “employee” role and was acting under the instructions of others. He said Chrysanthou had not committed any further offences since then and was employed and contributing to society.
Bravender was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, while Luke Chrysanthou was given an eight-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 150 hours of unpaid work.
Gardner, of Outwood Road, Heald Green; Bravender, of Deepdale Street, Swinton; Luke Chrysanthou, of Park Green, Macclesfield; and Zoe Chrysanthou, of Caldy Road, Handforth, were found guilty of conspiracy to supply cannabis between June 2018 and April 2019.
Bravender also admitted possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply after officers spotted him dealing drugs in Piccadilly Gardens in March 2020. Zoe Chrysanthou also admitted a further charge of being concerned in the supply of cannabis after she was caught trying to send a small amount of drugs by post in December 2022.