Sheffield Crown Court: 'Cannabis janitor' worked at Sheffield grow to pay off £50k debt accrued in Albania

A man who came into the country illegally to become a 'cannabis janitor' at a significant Sheffield grow to pay off a £50,000 debt accrued in Albania has been jailed.

The criminality of Rigles Ndreka was exposed after police raided a property on Staniforth Road, Darnall.

Prosecuting barrister, Richard Davies, told Sheffield Crown Court that officers found a 'cannabis grow' consisting of 24 plants in the loft of the property, and Ndreka was found sleeping.  

Mr Davies said a 'hydroponic system' was being used to assist with the grow, and the electricity supply at the property had been bypassed. 

"The defendant told the police that he was an Albanian national who came to the UK a year before on a lorry…when interviewed by the police, the defendant made full admissions in relation to the cannabis found. He said he had done everything himself," Mr Davies told the court. 

However, Ndreka’s assertion that he was entirely responsible for the set-up was quickly contradicted by his barrister, Clarkson Baptiste, who told The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, that Ndreka had 'lied' to the police. 

Judge Richardson asked in response: "He’s protecting someone thoroughly evil, no doubt."

"Indeed," Mr Baptiste responded, adding that Ndreka had come here to work off a debt and in doing so, had been 'engaged with persons of greater criminality' than him. 

Mr Baptiste also agreed with Judge Richardson’s suggestion that Ndreka had effectively acted as a 'cannabis janitor' at the property, for the 'serious criminal' in charge of the grow. 

Mr Davies told the court that the potential yield of the cannabis crop found at the property was estimated to be worth between £14,000 and £34,300, adding that the average cannabis crop has three yields per year. 

Police officers found ‘fashion items’ at the property, including a pair of trainers worth £400, Mr Davies continued. 

Judge Richardson said this suggested Ndreka was enjoying a substantial financial advantage as a result of the illegal enterprise.

Ndreka, aged 33, was charged with, and pleaded guilty to being concerned in the production cannabis at an earlier hearing. 

Mr Baptiste questioned why it had taken over two years for the case to reach court given that Ndreka had made 'immediate admissions' following the police raid on July 30, 2021. 

"I’m afraid that's not unusual," responded Judge Richardson. 

Mr Baptiste said Ndreka had spent the intervening years attempting to progress his asylum application, but Judge Richardson said that was now 'going to fail'.

Given Ndreka’s lack of convictions, Mr Baptiste suggested that Judge Richardson could perhaps suspend any sentence of imprisonment. 

But jailing Ndreka, of Whittington Road, Palmers Green, North London, for 17 months, the judge told him: "It needs to be made clear to men and women like you in Albania that if you come to this country to indulge in this form of criminality, a prison sentence will be the result. It has to be immediate custody."