‘Young and naive’ drug farmer was exploited by criminal gang in Mansfield
An drug farmer who was caught rearing 74 cannabis plants in Mansfield was “incredibly young and naive” and found himself exploited by criminals, a court has heard.
Police arrested Besar Hadroj when they raided an address on Windsor Road, in Mansfield, on February 12, said prosecutor Gurdial Singh.
Officers found four separate grows with 74 plants and associated growing paraphernalia. The meter had been bypassed and left in a “dangerous state.”
In a prepared statement Hadroj denied setting up the grow and didn't know the electricity had been abstracted.
“I act only as a gardener," he said when interviewed. “I have no connection to those who have set up the operation.”
Police didn't provide evidence of any estimated yield or value, but Mr Singh said the plants were healthy and could have produced four kilos of cannabis.
Katie Hodgkinson, mitigating, said Hadrof, an Albanian, has no previous convictions in this country and deserved credit for his guilty plea.
“He paid a significant amount of money to enter this country on a rubber raft,” she said. “His hope was to obtain work and support himself.
“He was detained in an immigration camp. He managed to leave and stayed with his cousin for a year in Reading where he happily worked in construction.”
Hadroj heard work was available in Birmingham and was taken to Mansfield where he was taught how to maintain a cannabis grow. He quickly realised he had to stay after receiving threats to his family and he wasn't paid.
“He is incredibly young and naive," said Ms Hodgkinson. “He knows he has done wrong and the last 13 weeks in custody have been an eye-opening experience.”
Hadroj, now aged 20, admitted cannabis production at Nottingham Magistrates Court on February 13.
On Tuesday Judge Mark Watson told him: “From my viewing of the body-worn footage this was an established and healthy production. In other words it was well looked after by you.
“This is once again a familiar story of a young man entering the UK illegally and then finding themselves financially exploited because of their own circumstances. That is how you found yourself to be a gardener in Mansfield.”
Hadroj received a six-month prison sentence. He will serve three months in custody and three on licence subject to a decision by the Home Office.