Suspects led police to drug and cash haul

SUSPICIOUS police who stopped a car were unwittingly led to a huge stash of drugs and cash.

Officers noticed a VW Passat being driven on Kingsway in Burnage, which appeared to have had its number plates ‘stuck on.’

They decided to stop the car, containing Albanian nationals Olsi Goga and Valten Gjini, both 33, and became more suspicious when they found watering cans and fertiliser in the car.

The officers described the pair as being ‘evasive’ when they were asked questions, Manchester Crown Court heard.

They were initially arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle, but were ‘de-arrested’ for that offence. In a bid to prove their identity, they offered to take the officers to their address.

The police were told that a sat nav in the car could direct them to a single bedroom flat in Burnage, where they were living.

When they arrived, officers became ‘overwhelmed’ by the smell of cannabis, the court heard.

A search of the property found cannabis and cash, prosecutor Sara Haque said. The cannabis was in an airing cupboard, and the cash was stashed in TV drawers.

Police estimated that there was about 15 kilos of cannabis, which could be worth £45,000 if sold in bulk, or £150,000 if peddled on the streets.

They also discovered between £10,000 and £15,000 in cash.

Both men were not known to the immigration services. Judge Elizabeth

Nicholls told Goga: “Finding the growing equipment in the car suggests that you and your codefendant are closely associated with the source of the drugs.”

Adam Watkins, defending both men, said they had both come to the UK in search of legitimate work. But he said that work had ‘dried up’ for them, and that they became involved for the benefit of being provided with accommodation and living expenses.

Mr Watkins described the pair as ‘custodians’ for the cash and drugs, and said the pair were ‘not criminal masterminds’ as they had effectively led police to the cannabis and cash.

The judge jailed both men for 12 months. Both pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cannabis and possession of criminal property.

Jailed: Olsi Goga and Valten Gjini were not criminal masterminds, the court heard