Cannabis factories set up by criminals who then exploit foreign nationals to run these operations feels like an increasing problem in Wales. The courts are often busy with people who have been caught up in cannabis cultivation, who then take the punishment for those further up the chain.
Many of the people who face criminal liability for these operations have often been illegally trafficked to the UK or have drug addictions themselves, and are forced to work off their debt. These factories are also prolific in the amount of plants being grown, with multiple crops cultivated using sophisticated equipment.
Here's a round up of the defendants who have appeared in front of Welsh courts for cannabis cultivation. You can get more crime and courts news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Hung Nguyen
Hung Nguyen, 20, was found tending a huge cannabis farm in Cardiff where 284 plants were recovered. Officers looked through the letterbox and saw him running upstairs before they forced entry.
Nearly all the rooms at the address in Mackintosh Place were found to be used for the production of cannabis. On the ground floor, plastic sheeting covered the floors and windows and large light bulbs were in place, along with fluorescent lamps and water being pumped into the rooms. In one downstairs room there were 29 plants, and in another, 28.
Upstairs, one room was found to contain 44 plants, and another room 60. A further room had been set up as a 'nursery', where there were 167 plants found at an early stage of growth. The bathroom had been set up as a watering system, with a pump in the bath pumping water to facilitate the plants growing in other rooms
Nguyen had left Vietnam "a little over a year ago", entering the country illegally, and had been in the UK for 12 months without making an application to remain in the country. He had been working cash in hand in the building industry in London, but that work dried up, and four weeks prior to his arrest it was suggested to him that he should travel to Cardiff where there would be work for him.
He appeared at Newport Crown Court where he was sentenced to a total of 14 months imprisonment.
Xhulio Shehaj
Xhulio Shehaj, 26, was caught cultivating a cannabis factory in a house in Cardiff "out of desperation" to pay off about £20,000 in debt. Police officers raided Africa Gardens where 206 cannabis plants were found.
Shehaj had come from Albania - his native country - to the UK at the end of 2020 due to his debt problems and other issues involving family members. He made friends with other Albanian males who introduced him to the possibility of earning money through cannabis production and he was subsequently placed in this particular property.
The set up of the factory was "sophisticated". Six rooms in the house had been converted into "growing rooms", while the kitchen had been fashioned into a sleeping area. The back of the property had been transformed into a watering room, with a 240L water container and an electronic pump.
Shehaj was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, at Cardiff Crown Court. The defendant will serve half of this in custody before he's released on licence for the remainder of the sentence.
Klajdi Zalli
Klajdi Zalli, 23, was forced to leave his home country for Britain and become a "gardener" in a Swansea cannabis factory so he could pay off a family debt to a gang. He said he had not been outside the drug farm for about two months by the time police raided the house.
Officers found him on the morning of March 15 at the property in Grenfell Town, Bonymaen. They forced the front door open and saw Zalli attempting to flee through the back garden. After they threatened him with Tasers he resigned himself to arrest.
Police seized 122 cannabis plants from four growing rooms which contained fluorescent lights and reflectors suspended by adjustable wires. With a potential yield of 10kg the plants were worth up to £52,000. There was also a kitchen which Zalli used as both a living room and bedroom. The house's electricity supply had been bypassed.
The defendant was sentenced to an 18-month jail term at Swansea Crown Court. Zalli will serve half the sentence in custody and the remainder on licence or in a detention centre. The cannabis will be destroyed.
Radjol Hatia
Radjol Hatia, 25, was found tending to more than 400 plants having come to the UK illegally. The value of the cannabis was valued up to £182,000.
Officers raided a two-storey mid-terrace house in Neath at 9.30am on February 10 where they found a large cultivation operation including lights, fans, and abstraction equipment. There were further cannabis plants in two upstairs bedrooms of the house in Pany yr Heol, Penrhiwtyn, and a small nursery of plants on the landing.
A sentencing hearing at Swansea Crown Court heard Hatia was arrested and told police he had been living at the property for six weeks and was tasked with watering the plants. He said he had entered the UK illegally on the back of a lorry two to three months previously and was working to pay off his "trafficking debt". The defendant was found in possession of keys to the house, a mobile phone, and £95 in cash.
He was sentenced to a total of 12 months imprisonment. Due to his illegal immigration status he will be deported once he has served his sentence.
Bernard Cera
Bernard Cera, 21, was trafficked from Albania to the UK and was found tending to 230 cannabis plants at a house in Cardiff. He claimed he was working to pay off a £10,000 debt and after threats were made to his family back home.
The defendant tried to escape from a property in Harriet Street, Cathays, on December 19 last year when police raided the house. He was seen trying to climb through a window but was later seen hiding under rubbish bags.
Cannabis plants of various sizes were discovered in four of the 10 rooms at the property. Also found were lamps, growing agents, and saplings in the attic. It was described by police as "a very good set up" and the presence of the saplings showed the potential for future growth.
Cera was sentenced to a total of 14 months imprisonment. He will serve half the sentence in custody before a decision is made by the Home Office as to his right to remain in the UK.
Arberi Muca
Arberi Muca, 31, was caught tending a cannabis farm in a property and was said to be doing so to pay off a loan he took out to pay for his late father's medical treatment. Police attended a house in Neath to conduct a drugs warrant after receiving intelligence suggesting that cannabis was being grown at the property.
They gained entry inside, and saw the defendant fleeing the house through the rear door. He was stopped by officers, who, whilst searching the house, discovered cannabis plants and growing equipment.
There were 185 plants in total, along with plant pots and clippings. There were 33 in one room, 25 in another, 27 in further space and 100 in an additional room. Lamps, heaters and specialist equipment was also discovered. Police estimated the yield was between 28 and 84 grams, valued between £20,000 and £26,000 and £64,000 and £83,000. The court heard the officer felt the quantity was consistent with its distribution being on a commercial scale.
Sentencing Muca to nine months in prison at Swansea Crown Court, Judge Paul Thomas told him: "It's a shame you resorted to drug production to clear the debt." Judge Thomas also made an order for the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.
Bardhok Marku
Bardhok Marku, 48, travelled to the UK in the back of a lorry and was found working in a cannabis factory with more than 200 plants. The gang who employed him refused to pay him and threatened his family back home in Albania.
He was arrested at a house in Nantymoel, Bridgend, after police raided the property and detained him in the kitchen. They found a total of 214 cannabis plants, with four rooms dedicated to the production of the drug. A fifth room contained lighting rigs, carbon filters, and watering systems. It was also discovered the electric meter at the house had been bypassed. The potential yield of the plants were between six and 13 kilograms, worth between £2,500 and £4,000 per kg.
Marku was sentenced to a total of four months imprisonment. Once he has completed his sentence he will be deported back to Albania.
Emiljan Cota
Emiljan Cota, 35, was discovered hiding in a cannabis farm with more than 100 plants worth up to £52,000. He entered the country illegally in the back of a lorry and was transported to Cardiff from London.
Police executed a search warrant at a house in Diana Street, Roath, where they found Emiljan Cota tending to cannabis. He attempted to escape from the back of the house but was detained by officers. A search of the house revealed it had been turned into a factory for the production of cannabis. A total of 127 plants were found in total, worth £12,000 but with a potential yield worth £52,000.
The defendant was found in possession of two mobile phones, SIM cards, receipts, identification cards and bank cards in his name. One of the phones was examined and found to contain a photo of Cota travelling in the back of a lorry.
Cota was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. He will serve half the sentence in custody before being released on licence.
Shpetim Maloku
Shpetim Maloku, 45, had been threatened by a criminal gang to tend to a cannabis farm with 70 plants being cultivated for onward supply. He was discovered at a house in Newport and attempted to escape before he was found in a nearby garden.
Upon entering the property in Cecil Sharp Road, police also discovered equipment including lights and fans as well as fresh food, bedding, and clothing which suggested the house was occupied. Maloku was arrested and interviewed. He told police he had been in the UK for 18 months on a travel visa. Upon travelling to Luton he began working in a car wash where he was approached by a group of Albanian men.
He was offered work by them in the construction industry. He was taken to an address in Newport and told the men about his family in Albania. They threatened him and his family if he did not work for them as a cannabis gardener. The defendant was told to water the plants every three days and his phone and passport were taken from him. The men returned every few days to deliver food but he remained at the property.
Maloku was sentenced to eight months imprisonment. He will serve half the sentence in custody and the remainder on licence.
Petrit Gasi
Petrit Gasi, 32, was found cultivating drugs at a factory in Yorkshire and was later found producing weed at a second site in Wales after being released from a detention centre. The potential street value of the drugs he was in charge of was around £200,000.
He was arrested by police at a cannabis factory in Maesteg after officers forced entry into a two-storey house. The living room and two upstairs bedrooms had been converted into growing rooms while Gasi slept in a small box room.
A total of 161 cannabis plants were seized and equipment was found such as lighting, fans and ventilation. The estimated yield of these plants was between 4,508g and 30,224g with a street value between £18,000 and £70,200. The defendant was arrested and it was revealed he had been previously arrested in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, where he had been working as a gardener at another cannabis factory. He said he had been trafficked into the UK from Albania illegally and had spent time with friends in London before being brought to the factory where he was told he would be paid £300 to look after the plants.
Gasi had spent a lengthy period at a detention centre after his first arrest but his release was secured by a solicitor employed by an "Albanian gang". Upon his release he was taken to Maesteg to work at another cannabis factory in order to pay off his £10,000 debt. Gasi was sentenced to a total of 21 months imprisonment.
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