UK: Harry Potter actor arrested over cannabis find: police
09 Apr 2009 1:51 AM
LONDON, April 8 AFP - A 19-year-old actor from the Harry Potter films has been arrested after police allegedly found cannabis in his car and his mother's home, reports and Scotland Yard said.
James Waylett, who plays Vincent Crabbe, a Hogwart pupil and Potter-hating bully, was detained with another young man in central London last Thursday.
"Two 19-year-old occupants were found in the vehicle. Both men were arrested and taken to Central London police station," said a Scotland Yard spokesman, adding that officers later raided his mother's home in Camden, north London.
"Officers found a number of plants believed to be cannabis and equipment for the cultivation of plants," he added, saying both men were bailed until a date in July pending further inquiries.
At least 10 cannabis plants worth Stg2,000 ($A4,145.51) were found, said media reports including the tabloid Sun, which printed the story under the headline "Harry Pothead".
The maximum punishment in Britain for cannabis production, which is considered a class B drug, is a 14-year jail sentence.
The latest Harry Potter film in which he stars, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will be released in Britain in July 17.
Last month a 22-year-old man was jailed for at least 20 years for stabbing and killing another actor from the latest Potter film, Rob Knox, in May last year in southeast London.
The Harry Potter series of books by J.K. Rowling have sold over 400 million copies, been translated into 67 languages, and spawned a successful series of films and a theme park.
