Kushi Alket, 35, was discovered as a gardener at the operation after a burglary was reported at the units where the cannabis factory was based.
Kushi Alket, 35, was working as a gardener at a cannabis factory(Image: South Wales Police)
A cannabis gardener was found tending to a cannabis factory with more than 200 plants which were worth up to £87,000. He was discovered after there were reports of a burglary at units on an industrial estate where the cannabis factory was based.
Kushi Alket, 35, was linked to the operation at Hirwaun Industrial Estate after police were alerted to a disturbance at eight separate units on June 3. There were a number of people in attendance who reported a number of units had been broken into.
A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Monday heard police discovered a cannabis factory during a search of the units. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here
Plants were being grown in two units, with some of the plants stolen.
Prosecutor Charles Archer said there was still a “significant” quantity of cannabis plants remaining, as well as cultivation equipment.
The cannabis factory was made up of three rooms.
The first room contained 104 plants full of soil.
The second room contained 202 cannabis plants.
The third room contained 118 plants of soil.
There was also a living area where there were beds, a fridge and two air pistols.
The defendant was identified by CCTV footage and by a vehicle outside the units, which was registered in his name.
Fingerprints on objects inside the unit also revealed his identity.
Alket, of Hillfield Road, Selsey, West Sussex, was arrested on September 5 in Hampshire.
The defendant later pleaded guilty to cannabis production, and has no previous convictions.
Mr Archer said the potential yield of the plants weighed up to 16.9kg and had a potential value between £27,400 and £87,800.
The court heard Alket is an Albanian national and has spent more than three months in custody.
Judge Vanessa Francis told the defendant she would pass a sentence that would allow him to be released, due to the time he has already spent in custody.
Alket was sentenced to nine months imprisonment.
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