Cannabis gardeners of £250k ex-Millom nightclub farm jailed

The farm had a yield of between £83,000 and £250,000

Three men who acted as gardeners of a £250,000 cannabis factory set up in a former nightclub have been jailed.

Eight rooms at what used to be The Ritz in Millom, Cumbria, had been converted for cannabis production, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

Cumbria Police found 297 plants after a passer-by reported a strong smell.

Albanians Emiljano Marku and Geg Gjegjaj, both aged 21, and Trandafilos Mhilli, 23, were found inside and were each jailed for nine months.

'Performing a role'

Photographs showed the cannabis factory set-up with fertiliser being used, significant re-wiring of electricity at the property and other equipment, including lights and timers, in place.

The estimated yield of the crop was between 8.3kg and 24.9kg with a potential street value of £83,000 at the lower end, up to £250,000.

"It is plain that these men were performing a role, under direction, as gardeners," prosecutor Andrew Evans said.

All three admitted being concerned in cannabis production after being brought to court.

Defence lawyers said all three men were transported by taxi to Millom.

The three men were jailed at Carlisle Crown Court

Only on arrival did they realise the nature of the illegal work they were being asked to do, and then did it for a number of months, the court heard.

Jeff Smith said Marku and Mhilli had arrived in the UK at different times hoping to raise their standard of living.

Mr Smith said: "During the relatively short period of time they were 'employed' in Millom, they received no money and were simply fed and provided with a roof over their head."

The court heard Gjegjaj had found himself in debt to and intimidated by people smugglers who had arranged his passage to the UK.

Recorder Michael Blakey told the trio, each of no fixed abode: "It clearly was an operation capable of producing significant quantities of cannabis.

"You were taken advantage of by criminals more sophisticated than you and effectively put to work in Millom on this cannabis farm."