Ipswich man gets 24-month sentence for growing cannabis

Erion Nezaj was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court

A 34-year-old man has been sentenced to 24-months in jail for growing cannabis.

Erion Nezaj, of Spring Road in Ipswich, was found to have grown 195 cannabis plants in a bungalow where he was believed to be living.

He pleading guilty to producing a Class B controlled drug at an earlier hearing at Ipswich Crown Court.

Judge Richard Kelly said the defendant played a "crucial role in the production process" of a "sophisticated enterprise".

Nezaj, an Albanian national who came to the UK as an asylum seeker, was arrested on 19 January by police executing a misuse of drugs warrant at the property.

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The court heard that he attempted to escape officers by scaling a garden fence and throwing a wheelie bin in their path, but was unsuccessful.

Officers who attended the home described the farm as "professional and organised".

Police found cannabis plants throughout three rooms and a loft, and the property had been equipped with silver lining, specialised heaters and lighting, air ducts and a concealed camera system.

Judge Kelly said: "Whoever was in charge of this operation went to quite some lengths, sophisticated lengths, to get the operation up and running."

Speaking to the defendant, Judge Kelly continued: "You plainly had an awareness and understanding of the scale of the operation... capable of producing a significant amount of cannabis for commercial use.

"Basic maths tells you this grow could have generated 10kg of cannabis."