A MAN was caught growing 200 cannabis plants at a house in a residential area.

Feti Spahiu, 26, was arrested after police raided the property in Newport in the Risca Road area of the city just before Christmas.

The defendant was working as a gardener at the “professional operation” where five rooms had been transformed into a cannabis factory.

The potential value of the crop was not disclosed at Newport Crown Court.

Megan Jones, prosecuting, said: “It was a sophisticated set-up with ventilation and lighting and the defendant was the only person found at the address.

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“He told the police he came to the UK illegally on a dinghy from France in 2022.

“The defendant lived in London before being brought to Newport six weeks before his arrest.

“He said he had been threatened about his family back home.

“The defendant said he could not give descriptions of these people.”

Spahiu pleaded guilty to producing cannabis and possession of criminal property by having £410 in cash.

The offences were committed on December 22, 2023.

He has no previous convictions.

The defendant followed the proceedings with the help of an Albanian translator.

Stuart John, mitigating, asked the court to give his client credit for his guilty pleas.

His lawyer added: “He performed a limited role under direction.

“He was a gardener and he was used by people higher up in the chain.

“The defendant was used as an illegal immigrant.

“When he is released, he says, he’s going straight back to Albania.”

The judge, Recorder Sean Bradley, said: “This was a professional operation with a significant quantity of drugs for commercial use.

“It is accepted you received limited payment for your role.”

Spahiu was jailed for 16 months and will be released halfway through that sentence when it is likely he will be deported.

The cannabis plants will be forfeited and destroyed and the defendant will have to pay a £187 victim surcharge.