Cannabis farmer paid £24,000 to come to UK – but was caught in Worksop before harvest

Elmas Sitaj tried to leave the address on Sime Street through the front door, as police forced entry through the back door, on November 29, Nottingham Crown Court was told.

Ricardo Childs, prosecuting, said, inside they found the electricity had been bypassed in ‘a professional set-up’ with 169 plants growing across five rooms.

The court heard the Albanian national has no previous convictions but was “clearly motivated by financial gain”.

Sitaj, 34, of no fixed address, admitted cannabis production.

Benn Robinson, mitigating, said Sitaj’s family lived in “borderline poverty” and he borrowed £24,000 from them to come to the UK.

Mr Robinson said: “He found legitimate cash-in-hand work to start with, but unfortunately that didn’t remunerate him anywhere near enough to pay for his own living expenses and to repay his debt and send money back to his family, which was the reason why he came here in the first place.

“He was told he would get a percentage of profits once the cannabis had been harvested and was given a very limited amount of money to put food on the table.

“Unfortunately for him, he was caught before the crop was harvested. He has been exploited to a degree.”

However, Judge Tanweer Ikram asked: “How is he exploited? He makes the decision and he knows what it costs."

Mr Robinson said: “It’s the fact he is in a foreign country with a very limited network, no prospects of legitimate employment and no money to be trafficked back to Albania that make him easy prey for those above him that conduct this type of business.

Judge Ikram replied: “It could be said that all those who are in poverty in this county are in the same situation.”

Jailing Sitaj for 10 months, the judge told him: “There was never going to be significant financial gain. You come here illegally, you take a risk. It can never be right that you turn to criminality.

“This is not a country where you get rich very quickly. Life is hard and people aren't paid very much.”