Author: Michael Taylor
An illegal immigrant who arrived in the UK in the back of a lorry has been described as a ‘gardener tending cannabis plants’ after a £100,000 crop was discovered in Somerset.
Miroxh Domi, 28, appeared via video link from HMP Exeter accused of producing a quantity of cannabis at an address in Weston-super-Mareon January 16.
Speaking via a translator, he said: “I am guilty that I was in that house and nothing else.”
Judge Ticehurst, sitting at Taunton Crown Court, asked Domi for his plea on possessing Class B drugs, and he replied: “I am guilty.”
Prosecutor Emma Martin said Domi is an Albanian national who illegally entered the country after paying £3,000 and was smuggled inside a lorry.
She added: “He wants to go home as soon as possible. This relates to a house completely changed in order to grow cannabis.
“It was an arrest in Weston-super-Mare and the various ongoings were discovered by non-payments of electricity bills and by the electrical company.
“There was a set up between the floors to access the plants. When the police arrived to deal with the matter, Mr Domi was the only occupant.
“He co-operated with police and produced identification and accepted he was in the country illegally.”
Officers discovered 226 cannabis plants, described by the prosecution as in a “healthy condition” but had not fully matured.
“It was described as a very professional set up. It had a watering system and cannabis (plants) were in bespoke pots”, Mrs Martin explained.
The cannabis plants had a street value of more than £100,000. Officers also discovered “substantial cash” in the sum of £537 and a number of mobile phones and SIM cards inside the address.
Describing the conditions of the property, Mrs Martin said it was “fair to say that the living conditions were nothing short of appalling”.
Judge Ticehurst queried if this was a case of modern slavery and believed “he is not the main man” in this drugs operation.
Defending Domi, Patrick Mason agreed and said his case is likely of modern slavery and explained the Home Office is now aware of Domi’s residential situation.
Source: https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/illegal-immigrant-who-came-uk-2829215
