An Albanian national faces deportation after a sophisticated cannabis cultivation operation worth up to £190,000 was discovered in a residential property in a leafy Nottinghamshire village.
Officers raided a three-storey semi-detached house on Woodlands Close in Watnall on July 2 after receiving local intelligence about suspected drug activity.
Inside the property, they found 22-year-old Irindi Haka maintaining an extensive cannabis growing operation that occupied the entire first floor of the building.
The Albanian national, who had entered Britain illegally, was discovered actively caring for 223 cannabis plants spread across multiple rooms when police executed their search warrant.
PA/NOTTINGHAMSHIRE POLICE
|Irindi Haka appeared at Nottinghamshire Crown Court
The cultivation setup featured sophisticated equipment, including high-intensity lighting systems, ventilation fans and automated irrigation across five distinct growing areas within the property.
Prosecutors told Nottingham Crown Court that the first growing area contained 17 plants, whilst the second held 46, the third housed 25, the fourth accommodated 105 plants, and the fifth area contained 55 specimens.
A drugs expert's assessment valued the entire haul between £29,000 and £187,000, with the higher figure based on street-level distribution at £10 per transaction.
Investigators also recovered a mobile phone and discovered a fold-out bed at the premises, indicating Haka resided there whilst maintaining the illegal operation.
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|Officers were called to Woodlands Close in Watnall
Haka entered a guilty plea to cannabis production charges at Nottingham Crown Court earlier this week, marking his first criminal conviction in Britain.
Judge Julie Warburton sentenced the 22-year-old to twelve months' imprisonment, acknowledging that he had been "offered the chance for free accommodation to earn money to pay off a debt."
During sentencing, the judge noted: "There were a total of 223 plants in various stages of growth with a value of up to £187,000 if sold in £10 deals."
Prosecutor Sam Jones emphasised that Haka had unrestricted access to the property and "was free to come and go from the address," suggesting awareness of the operation's scale.
Defence barrister Declan Smith revealed that his client had fled Albania to escape "difficulties" and debts in his homeland, initially finding cash-in-hand employment in Britain's construction sector.
When construction work ceased, Haka accumulated additional debts in the UK and was subsequently recruited to maintain the cannabis cultivation as a means of repayment.
"Others offered him shelter and he was shown by those others how to look after the grow to pay off his debt," Smith told the court.
The barrister described how intimidating individuals had pressured Haka into the role, leaving him feeling he lacked alternatives, reports NottinghamshireLive.
Smith characterised his client's predicament as being "between a rock and a hard place," facing both Albanian debts and British imprisonment before inevitable deportation.