Cannabis gardener jailed for tending £87k factory in Hirwaun

⚖️🌿 A cannabis gardener has been sentenced after being found tending to a cannabis factory containing more than 200 plants worth up to £87,000 at an industrial estate in Hirwaun.

Kushi Alket, 35, was linked to the operation at Hirwaun Industrial Estate after police were alerted to a disturbance at eight separate units on 3rd June. Officers discovered the cannabis factory during a search after receiving reports that a number of units had been broken into.

Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard on Monday that plants were being grown in two units, with some of the plants stolen during the burglary. Prosecutor Charles Archer said there was still a “significant” quantity of cannabis plants remaining, along with cultivation equipment.

The cannabis factory was made up of three rooms. The first room contained 104 plants full of soil, the second room contained 202 cannabis plants, and the third room contained 118 plants of soil. There was also a living area where police found beds, a fridge and two air pistols.

Alket was identified through CCTV footage and by a vehicle outside the units which was registered in his name. Fingerprints on objects inside the unit also revealed his identity.

The defendant, of Hillfield Road, Selsey, West Sussex, was arrested on 5th September in Hampshire. He later pleaded guilty to cannabis production and has no previous convictions.

Mr Archer told the court the potential yield of the plants weighed up to 16.9kg and had a potential value between £27,400 and £87,800.

The court heard Alket is an Albanian national and has spent more than three months in custody. Judge Vanessa Francis told the defendant she would pass a sentence that would allow him to be released, due to the time he has already spent in custody.

Alket was sentenced to nine months imprisonment.