Man sentenced to prison after growing 1,331 cannabis plants

Adrian Boci, 27, pled guilty on June 12 at Newport Magistrates’ Court to producing the class B drug of cannabis, after being caught with 1,331 plants worth over £300,000 inside a derelict building in Maindee.

Today, July 24, at Newport Crown Court, it was heard that Boci was ‘at the sharp end’ of a ‘substantial and sophisticated’ drug farm operating out of the former Maindee swimming baths, on Victoria Avenue in Newport.

The prosecution told Judge Egan that when caught, police saw the defendant try to escape the address “by climbing through the roof and then jumping from garden to garden.”

It was also stated that out of the 1,331 cannabis plants found in the main room, 631 were adult plants and 700 were nursing plants stored in incubators, being “well looked after”.

Police found another three or four rooms being prepped for the same purpose, with 'professional' equipment such as power transformers and LED lighting.

Upon sentencing, Judge Egan addressed the defendant and said: “Adrian Boci you first arrived in the UK illegally from Albania in 2022, seeking a better life. You worked for cash on building sites in London before coming to South Wales.

“The operation had taken over the debunked Maindee swimming baths and it was both a professional and sophisticated set up. You had an idea of the scale of the operation.

“It was an organised crime with you at the sharp end of it - looking after crop that is worth in excess of £300,000.”

Adrian Boci was fined and sentenced to eight months in prison, with the judge considering that he has no previous convictions and that he pled guilty at the earliest possible opportunity.

He will serve up to half of his sentence, so four months, in custody, and then the second half will be served when released on license.

Adrian Boci’s defence barrister expressed how the defendant wants to go back to his home country, Albania, and will do so in due course.