Police sniff out £110,000 Stourbridge cannabis farm

A house in Burns Close, had white plastic blotting out some of the windows and when officers called on June 6 they spotted a curtain twitch but nobody answered their knock on the front door, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

A first-floor window was open and when a policeman climbed up a ladder to investigate, he came face to face with Shkelqim Skarai who was persuaded to go downstairs and let them in.

But the Albanian then made a bolt for it as soon as he opened the door. He was caught after a short foot chase, said Mr Lal Amarasinghe, prosecuting.

The 25-year-old, who turned out to be an illegal immigrant, was taken to the Oldbury custody suite while the house was searched by officers.

A total of 233 plants, capable of producing a cannabis crop worth £113,000, were under cultivation in three rooms of the property and the electricity supply had been by-passed to provide power for the high powered lighting and extractor unit.

Mr Amarasinghe said that police were checking fingerprints found at the scene in a bid to trace others involved in the drug farm.

Skarai admitted entering the country illegally and said he was promised £1,000 if he remained at the address to feed and water the plants.

Mr Simon Burch, defending, said: "He knows very little about producing cannabis but did what he was told.

"He had been at the house for less than a month and had not been paid a penny, although he had been given some food."

Skarai, of no fixed address, admitted producing cannabis and was sent to prison for 12 months. He is expected to be deported on his release.

Judge Kristina Montgomery QC said: "You are an illegal immigrant who came here to find work but, when you could not do that, you took an offer to play a maintenance role in a relatively sophisticated set-up growing cannabis.

"You were offered a substantial amount of money although you may never have received it."