£100,000 Hartlepool cannabis farm gardener found hiding in 'secret area' sentenced at Durham Crown Court

Officers uncovered the drugs farm at a house in Cornwall Street in December when they broke down the door early in the morning.

At first there appeared to be nobody at the address.

But 25-year-old Elvis Kastrati, who was living there, was later found hiding in a hidden secure area, Durham Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Paul Newcombe said: “The defendant was found hiding in a secure, hidden area in the house that had to be ripped open.”

Kastrati was looking after 139 cannabis seedlings and plants being grown in four areas spread over three floors including the loft.

Special lighting and ducting to help boost the plants’ growth was also present.

Mr Newcombe added: “An experienced drugs squad officer said that the expected yield would be between 3.8 and 11.6 kilos of cannabis.”

Based on a street value of £10 per gram, the drugs were valued at between £36,000 and £116,000, with the police putting it closer to the higher end.

The court was told that Kastrati was an asylum seeker who had been sleeping rough in London and had been looking for a cleaning or construction job.

Matthew Hopkins, mitigating, said: “He was told if he went to Hartlepool some individuals could find him some work.

"When he got there it involved cultivating cannabis. He accepts it was foolish to go there without knowing exactly what the work would involve, but I would suggest he was a somewhat vulnerable person who has been taken advantage of.”

A sentencing report described Kastrati as low risk of reoffending. He was said to have been at the house in Cornwall Street for only two days.

He spent two months in prison on remand after admitting production of a class B drug.

Mr Hopkins added: “He’s willing to do whatever it takes to avoid going back to prison which has been an unpleasant experience for him.”

The judge, Recorder Harry Vann, described the cannabis farm as “substantial” but accepted Kastrati had been susceptible to coercion.

He was given a six-month jail term, which was suspended for 12 months, ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work and to complete 15 rehabilitation activity days.