Large commercial cannabis farms were found by police in units on a County Durham industrial estate, a court was told.

Officers discovered 311 plants in Unit Five on Peterlee’s North West Industrial Estate on April 30, following reports of a strong smell from inside.

The landlord was alerted and, having made checks on arrival, he reported similar activity at another building, Unit Nine, which, like the first, was listed in the name of a bathroom company.

Durham Crown Court was told that when Unit Nine was examined, 207 plants were found in several rooms fitted with sophisticated growing equipment.

(Image: Durham Constabulary)

There were also living quarters, well-stocked with food, alcohol and other household goods.

A further unit on the site was checked and that was found to contain a total of 1,004 cannabis plants.

Cainan Lonsdale, prosecuting, said overnight the scene was secured and each unit was made safe.

An officer was assigned to remain on guard duty awaiting scenes of crime personnel to attend the following day.

While the officer was on duty a man emerged from the makeshift walls of Unit Nine and approached, placing his hands in the air.

Mr Lonsdale said the male, defendant Jeton Metollari, of Albanian origin, was arrested and a mobile phone found on him was seized.

Upon analysis it was found to contain drawn instructions with a note discovered containing what appeared to be a growing guide relating to the quantities of ingredients to aid the plant growth.

A photo was found on the phone featuring the defendant above the suspended ceiling of the unit.

There were also various notes featuring monetary values between £2,000 and £9,000.

Mr Lonsdale said the seized plants have been analysed by an expert witness and just those recovered from Unit Nine were given a potential street-sale value of anywhere between £57,900 and £173,880.

The 25-year-old defendant, of no fixed abode, admitted being concerned in the production of a Class B drug, but on the basis that he only played a role as “gardener” for just the plants recovered from Unit Nine.

Mr Lonsdale said the prosecution accepted that basis and upon checking, there were no previous references on the police national computer record relating to the Albanian national.

(Image: The Northern Echo)

Martin Scarborough, in mitigation, said, as the defendant admitted, he was merely playing the role of gardener.

“It appears to have been an isolated incident, bearing in mind he’s been in this country for a year and has no previous convictions.

“He knows this will be a custodial sentence and it may well be he is released halfway through the sentence and that’s when the Home Office may well intervene and he will be returned to Albania.

Addressing Metollari, through an Albanian interpreter, Judge Paul Watson told him he was sentencing him only on what the police found in Unit Nine.

“Nevertheless, this was still a large scale, sophisticated operation, for commercial purposes.

“You must have known the scale and size of this operation.”

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Imposing an 18-month prison sentence, Judge Watson told Metollari that the time he has spent in custody since his arrest will come off the sentence.

“As to what happens to you on your release, that’s a matter for the Home Office.”

The judge also ordered forfeiture and destruction of the seized cannabis and deprivation of the equipment found by the police.