Pair of cannabis farmers caught hiding in loft with £60K haul
TWO Albanian cannabis farmers were found hiding in the loft of a Derbyshire property where they were tending to a £60,000 drugs grow.
Festim Xhambazi and Klentis Myrtezaj were caught after police were told the property was being used for the production of the class B drug. Officers discovered three of the rooms had been set aside for growing and drying the illegal substance.
Both told police they had been taken to the property by people they owed money to and agreed to tend to the crop to pay off debts and earn cash.
Jailing both men for 10 months, Judge Nirmal Shant QC said: “You both accept you did perform a role in looking after a limited number of plants for a short period of time for money.
“You were both motivated by financial reward and you had limited understanding of the extent of the operation.”
Sarah Slater, prosecuting, said police attended the address in Market Street, South Normanton, having been informed that a cannabis grow was inside it. When they carried out their warrant, at around 9.30am on November 12, they found two rooms were being used to grow the class B drug.
Miss Slater said: “In one bedroom there were 16 plants along with the usual paraphernalia associated with growing cannabis on this scale such as lights. Another 26 plants were found growing in the loft and there was evidence of a previous crop and more than 40 more plants were drying in a third room.
“The police’s drugs expert has estimated that depending in what quantities it was sold, the total monetary value would be £7,400 at the lowest end to £62,250 at the highest end if sold in smaller deals. Both defendants were found in the loft and were arrested by the police.”
Miss Slater said in interview Xhambazi, 28, told police he had been in the UK for around seven weeks and had been at the property for seven-to-eight days having been offered £700 per month to tend to the crop. Myrtezaj, 24, said he had been at the property for two days and decided to stay and help his friend as he needed the money.
Neither of the men, who appeared over a video link from Nottingham Prison and were helped at the hearing by an Albanian interpreter, have any previous convictions. The pair, both of Market Street, South Normanton, admitted producing a class B drug.
Tariq Shakoor, for Xhambazi, said his client had been in the UK for around two months and was offered the chance to earn some money.
He said: “It was for financial gain but his intention was not to stay at this property for long. He wanted to earn money to pay for medicine for his diagnosis of hepatitis B.”
James Horne, for Myrtezaj, said his client came to the UK in 2019 and initially found lawful employment as a tradesman in the south.
He said: “He was brought to South Normanton by those who he owed money to for his unlawful travel into the UK and had a debt to pay. He thought he was being brought to Derbyshire for lawful employment but was duped.”
A decision on whether the pair will be deported on their release lies with the Secretary of State.