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Police uncovered a cannabis farm worth over £200,000 in Hartlepool as it was being cleared out.

Officers on mobile patrol were drawn to the address in Harrow Street, off Oxford Road, by a strong smell of cannabis while three men loaded equipment and cropped plants into a van.

Two of the men from Albania, Vasjen Rama, 34, and Belo Alioj, 33, were caught and have been jailed.

They are expected to be deported when they are released from prison.

Belo Alioj (left) and Vasjen Rama were jailed for 15 months for production of cannabis at Harrow Street, Hartlepool. (Photo: Cleveland Police)

Teesside Crown Court heard the drug farm was discovered on June 16.

Jonathan Harley, prosecuting, said: “Thee males, one unknown male and these two defendants, were moving equipment, which had the appearance of use in cannabis growing, from the property into the vehicle.”

When the men saw the police they ran inside the house and tried to escape out the back.

One of the PCs looked through the front window and saw “what was clearly a cannabis farm,” said Mr Harley.

A house in Harrow Street was used as a cannabis farm. Picture by FRANK REID

Police raced round to the alleyway prompting Rama and Alioj to run back inside where they were arrested.

A total of 345 cropped cannabis plants were found inside the house which a police drugs expert stated were worth £193,200.

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Several more plants were found inside a large bag in the front room and were valued at £29,680.

The court heard Alioj had been in the country for two years and Rama around eight months.

Neither had any previous convictions in this country which their lawyers asked the judge to take into account.

Recorder Jamie Hill accepted their role was towards the lower end of the scale.

But he added: “It’s fair to say the people in charge of this grow must have had a considerable degree of trust in you two because of the value of the equipment involved.

"This was clearly a substantial commercial enterprise.”

Rama and Alioj, both of no fixed address, admitted production of a class B drug and were each jailed for 15 months.

Mr Hill told them: “I expect you will be deported to Albania when you have served the relevant proportion.”

Cleveland Police have mounted a number of operations targeting Albanian criminals who have been behind a number of cannabis farms in Hartlepool in the last few years.

Strong smell of cannabis led Cleveland Police to £200,000 Hartlepool cannabis farm