A man found hiding in the attic of a house which was being used as a cannabis farm had come to the UK in search of a better life, a court has heard. Faik Hoxha was found hiding in the attic of the property when police carried out an intelligence-led raid at the address in Neath. The property had been entirely given over to the production of cannabis with more than 170 plants of varying levels of maturity being cultivated.
Swansea Crown Court heard Hoxha had paid people traffickers to get him into Britain and was hoping to send any money he earned back to his family in Albania. His advocate told the court that as an only son his client had felt it was his duty to support his family.
Alycia Carpanini, prosecuting, said on the morning of November 27 last year police executed a search warrant at a house in Penrhiwtyn Street in Penrhiwtyn, Neath, following the receipt of information which suggested the property was being used for the growing of cannabis. She said officers tried to force entry through the front door only to find it barricaded from within but were able to kick their way through the back door.
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She said it was apparent to the officers as soon as they entered the house that it had been given over to the production of the drug with four rooms being used as growing rooms. Officers also found that the electricity meter had been bypassed so they called for engineers to attend to make the power supply safe. The prosecutor said 31-year-old Hoxha was found hiding behind plastic sheeting in the eaves of the loft. The court heard that in total 173 cannabis plants of various levels of maturity were recovered and the value of the potential yield of the crop was put at up to £78,000. In his subsequent police interview the defendant answered "no comment" to all questions asked.
Faik Hoxha, of Penrhiwtyn Street in Penrhiwtyn, Neath, had previously pleaded guilty to producing cannabis when he appeared in the dock via videolink from prison for sentencing. The court heard he had no previous conviction in the UK while there had been "no response" from the authorities in Albania about about any convictions the defendant may have in that country.
Andrew Evans, for Hoxha, said the defendant's story – of a man of working age who had come to the UK to find employment and "better himself" but due to his immigration status was unable to find lawful employment – was one which was all too familiar to the courts. He said it was clear from the pre-sentence report that Hoxha was an intelligent man who, being the only son, had felt it his responsibility to earn money to support his family back in Albania. The advocate said though the defendant had been placed in the Neath cannabis farm by others and the growing operation had clearly been in place before his arrival his client did not claim to the court that he had been pressurised or coerced into working there.
Recorder Neil Owen-Casey said it was significant that Hoxha had paid traffickers to get him into the UK and had entered into work at the Neath house of his own volition. In line with the sentencing guidelines and with a one-third discount for his guilty plea Hoxha was sentenced to 14 months in prison. The defendant will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence.
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