A gardener 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, on August 19 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.

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A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday heard the 35-year-old defendant was found in possession of two mobile phones, SIM cards, receipts, identification cards and bank cards in his name. One of the phones were examined and was found to contain a photo of Cota travelling in the back of a lorry.

The court heard Cota was an economic migrant from Albania with no previous convictions. Upon arriving in the UK, he owed a substantial debt to those who enabled his passage into the country. He was brought to Cardiff and was put to work as a gardener, having been unable to secure legal employment. The defendant, of no fixed abode, later pleaded to cannabis production.

Sentencing, Judge David Wynn Morgan said: "The people who organise these cannabis factories take steps to make sure they don't get caught. They use people like you but in an attempt to deter people like you in an attempt to help these people, custodial sentences are invariably imposed in cases of this nature."

Cota was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. He will serve half the sentence in custody before being released on licence.

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