A cannabis farmer who was in the UK illegally was paid with clothes, grooming products and trips to London and Scotland.
Rexhino Musaku was a trained mechanic in his homeland of Albania but was unable to get legitimate work here due to his immigration status. A court heard he was offered work looking after a drugs farm in Sunderland, which was busted when British Gas sent someone out over concerns about the electricity meter, which had been bypassed to power the equipment.
A worker from a company acting on behalf of the fuel supplier went to the city's Gray Road with a warrant to enter on May 24 and gained entry with the help of a locksmith. Jane Foley, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court : "Once inside the property it was clear it was being used as a cannabis farm.
