Drug gardener trying to pay off £20k debt for Channel crossing
£150K CANNABIS HAUL SEIZED
A CANNABIS grower who was found looking after plants worth more than £150,000 was told not to worry if he got caught, because the police “always let people go anyway”.
Julian Bushgjokaj, an illegal immigrant, was looking after 144 cannabis plants in a sophisticated factory across several rooms of a terraced house in west Hull.
He was working to repay a £20,000 debt that he ran up through being transported to this country by “nefarious” means, Hull Crown Court heard.
Bushgjokaj, 30, originally from Albania, but recently in custody at Hull Prison on remand, admitted producing cannabis on December 21.
Police raided the three-storey terraced house in De Grey Street, Hull, where Bushgjokaj had been living. He was alone and was in the living room, said Cathy Kioko-gilligan, prosecuting,
All the rooms had thick, heavy blankets on the doors.
“The electricity had been bypassed, which resulted in an electrician being called to make the premises safe,” added Miss Kioko-gilligan.
Police found 14 cannabis plants in a first-floor room and 12 plants in another room. There were also 84 nursery plants for a follow-up crop.
In another room were eight cannabis plants and in a further room were 26 plants as well as extractor fans, a watering system and plugs. There were no cannabis plants in the loft, but it had been prepared for use with lights, transformers, fans and other equipment.
Bushgjokaj told police that he owed £20,000 for his transport into this country and that he had agreed to tend the cannabis plants to pay off his debt.
“He was able to come and go as he pleased as he had keys to the property,” said Miss Kioko-gilligan.
“He had money to buy food, which he did on a weekly basis. He had a mobile phone and stated that he had not been forced to work in the property.
“He said that his role was simply to care for the plants. He added that he had been told that, although it was illegal to grow cannabis, the police always let people go anyway.”
The 60 more mature cannabis plants that were found had an estimated value of £63,000 on the streets, or between £22,000 and £31,500 at trade value. The follow-up crop of 84 plants had a potential street value of £88,200, or between £31,500 to £45,000 at trade value.
This meant a total possible street value of £151,200, or between £53,550 and £76,500 at trade value. A total of £370 cash was found.
Bushgjokaj had no previous convictions.
Digby Johnson, mitigating, said that it seemed that Bushgjokaj made his own way to this country rather than being part of a gang. He had heard about work in car washes and the construction industry, but he admitted that he had to find a “nefarious way of getting across the Channel”.
It was at that point that Bushgjokaj came into contact with people who were involved in the cannabis trade.
“He was told that, in the UK, it’s not something regarded very seriously,” said Mr Johnson. “He was paid about £10 a day to cover his food and personal expenses. The amount of money that was found was consistent with that level of recompense.”
Bushgjokaj claimed that he had been in Hull for about a month. “He was brought specifically to that address and that’s the only place in the area that he has ever lived,” said Mr Johnson.
Bushgjokaj was jailed for two years. He is likely to face deportation after that. The £370 cash seized will be forfeited and given to the St Paul’s boxing charity in Hull city centre.