Two Albanian men who entered the country illegally were found working at a huge cannabis farm in a Norfolk village, a court has heard.
Armand Isufi, 25, and Silvios Balloli, 24, were both operating as “gardeners” for the operation at a commercial property off Thetford Road in South Lopham, near Diss.
Norwich Crown Court heard police raided the disused shed and found both defendants sorting and bagging cannabis.
Norwich Crown Court (Image: Peter Walsh, Newsquest) Matthew Edwards, prosecuting, said the shed was divided into four parts, one of which was a living quarters with kitchenette and bed, and the other areas all “growing rooms”.
One of the rooms had 100 cannabis plants in it while there were plants and drugs as well as lighting and heating equipment in three other rooms.
Drugs found within the cannabis factory (Image: Norfolk Constabulary) In total police found 150 plants and double that number of “baby plants”, with an estimated total street value of £723,000.
Isufi and Balloli, both of no fixed abode, spoke through an Albanian interpreter when they appeared for sentencing on Thursday after they admitted production of cannabis.
Jailing both defendants for six months, Judge Anthony Bate said it was a “sad and familiar story of young men becoming ensnared by sophisticated criminal gangs” who are “forced” to pay off their debt illegally.
Judge Anthony Bate (Image: Newsquest) He said the rural location was “ideal for clandestine activity of this kind”.
Oliver Haswell, for Isufi, said he was a young man who had come to this country illegally about three years ago “to try and better himself”.
He said the defendant “existed below the radar”, doing menial jobs “off the books” but “developed a gambling problem”.
Mr Haswell said it had not been a significant problem but due to the excessive interest applied by those who “held him in their grip” it turned a manageable problem into a “liability”.
The defence barrister said he was given an opportunity to manage that increasing debt by working as a gardener.
Natasha Nair, for Balloli, said he also entered the UK illegally about eight months ago and accrued a £20K debt in doing so.
She said he had been “placed at the address” and had been there between three and four months before his arrest.
Miss Nair said he was “effectively told to feed and water the plants as a way of repaying that debt”.
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