Teen drug farmer jailed for growing £237,000 of cannabis in Notts

Police swooped on the three-bed house on Waverley Place, on July 1, where Ronaldo Gremi and Fotsis Metsis were found, Nottingham Crown Court heard on Tuesday.

Metsis pushed past one officer and ran off, but collided with an open window and fell to the floor where he threw punches that failed to connect, said prosecutor Raglan Ashton.

Officers discovered 283 mature plants with an estimated yield of 7,924 grams to 23,772 grams and a street value of £79,240 to £237,720.

"The wholesale value of a single crop is between £43,280 and £178,290," said Mr Ashton. "Mobile phones found at the property couldn't be interrogated as they were damaged."

Gremi, of previous good character, pleaded guilty on the basis that "he only became involved due to his desperate personal circumstances."

The Albanian national arrived legally in the UK aged 18, but lost his work on a building site due to Covid-19 and was sofa-surfing and financially desperate.

The elaborate hydroponic set-up was already in place, Mr Ashton said, and Gremi's role was to follow instructions and make sure it wasn't stolen, for £50 per day, plus food and accommodation.

Tom Copeland, mitigating, said Gremi took "the brave decision to come to the UK to earn money and support his mother," after a "tough upbringing" in Greece.

He said Gremi, who has been in custody since his arrest, has already served the equivalent of a six-month sentence, and was exploited after being offered the job in a cafe.

"He does not shirk from his responsibility," he said. "He accepts he made the wrong choice when he agreed to help these men."

Balbir Singh said Metsis, who has no previous convictions, was "in the wrong place at the wrong time" and "panicked" when police arrived. He has served 11 weeks in custody.

Gremi, who is now 20, and of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to producing cannabis. Metsis, 27, of East Avenue, Oldbury, Sandwell, pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer.

Judge Julie Warburton agreed that "destitution", rather than the desire to make "substantial profit" motivated Gremi, and she handed him an eight-month prison sentence. Metsis was fined £150.

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