LEAFY SUBURB’S DRUG DEN
CANNABIS GARDENER JAILED AFTER HUGE DRUG FARM FOUND IN PLUSH £300,000 CITY HOME
A CANNABIS “gardener” tried to climb out of a window as police officers forced their way into the £300,000 house where he was tending 250 plants.
Gentian Shkalla, from Albania, told officers he sneaked into the UK in a lorry and was offered £40 a day to look after the young plants in the largescale set-up in Radyr, Cardiff.
Sentencing him at Cardiff Crown Court , Judge Jeremy Jenkins described it as a “substantial cannabis factory”.
The court heard police searched the property in De Clare Drive on Friday, April 27.
Suzanne Payne, prosecuting, said: “They had to force entry into the address.
“As they were doing so the defendant attempted to leave the property by climbing through the kitchen window.”
The court heard Shkalla was caught as he tried to escape through the window and detained by officers.
Prosecutors said the ground floor appeared to be a living area containing a kitchen and a sitting room.
Ms Payne added: “Officers found a large-scale cannabis factory with approximately 250 cannabis plants located on the first floor and in the attic.”
The court heard they also discovered a large quantity of dried cannabis at the address.
Shkalla was arrested and taken to Cardiff Bay Police Station, where he was interviewed. He told officers he arrived in the UK in a lorry about 18 months before he was arrested.
The defendant stated he began working as a labourer on a building site in London, where he was paid £30 a day.
He was then approached by a group of men who offered him £40 a day to look after cannabis plants in a house.
Shkalla told the police he accepted because he “needed the money” as he was in debt in Albania.
He said he agreed to take the job for three months before returning to his home country.
He claimed he was shown how to look after the young plants and another man was responsible for the more mature plants.
The defendant told officers he had been living temporarily at the address for about a month before his arrest and had not received any money but was given food and drink.
He accepted he knew that it was illegal to grow cannabis in the UK.
Prosecutors argued he played a significant role in the chain as a gardener and that he was motivated by financial gain.
Ms Payne suggested he was involved in producing a “significant quantity” of the Class B drug for commercial use.
She said there would be no application under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Shkalla, 27, who does not have a permanent address in the UK, admitted producing cannabis.
Richard Ace, defending, said: “There was an element of naivety, an element of exploitation.”
He accepted it was a substantial setup but told the court his client had “little awareness” of the scale.
Mr Ace added: “He was a relatively young man, with no English, hundreds of miles away from home. He was taken advantage of.”
Judge Jenkins made an order for the cannabis plants to be destroyed.
In his sentencing remarks, he said: “[The police] found a substantial cannabis factory.
“More than 250 plants were located on the first floor and in the attic of the building, along with a large amount of dried cannabis, showing there had been at least one previous harvest.”
Shkalla was jailed for 20 months and will have to pay a victim surcharge when he is released.
The judge warned him he is likely to be deported halfway through his sentence but told him that would be a decision for the Home Office.
After the case, people living in the area reported smelling cannabis before the raid took place.
“Occasionally we would smell something but I wouldn’t say it was a strong smell,” said one neighbour, who asked not to be named.
“It is not the sort of area where you would expect this to happen.
“I wouldn’t say it was obvious that anything was happening else we would’ve reported it.”
Another neighbour, who also asked to remain anonymous, added: “Obviously we saw that the police were there for two days and two nights.
“They told us that it was to do with drugs. People could smell stuff.
“A man who lives across the park said he could smell it very strongly but not me.
“I don’t really notice that sort of thing unless you’re deliberately trying to look for it.”