Cannabis 'manager' helped harvest 15kg of the drug at Leeds address to pay for parents' medical bills

Police found tens of thousands of pounds worth of the drug after raiding the property in Harehills last year. Finger prints were found but nobody was in at the time.

Aleksander Muha was arrested five months later, with his prints matching those found. They also found his phone which contained detailed instructions he had sent to others about growing and harvesting the drug.

Prosecutor Oliver Norman told Leeds Crown Court that officers smashed their way into the property on Nowell Gardens on March 30 last year. They found 147 plants in various stages of growth and spread across four rooms.

There was also a "sophisticated" set-up including hydroponics, fans, lamps and transformers. There was large bags of vacuum-packed dried cannabis ready to be sold on.

Muha, of Horncastle Road, London, eventually admitted a charge of producing cannabis, but only after a trial had been set. He appeared in court this week via video link from HMP Leeds where he was being held on remand.

Mitigating, Laura Miller pointed to his lack of previous convictions and at 25 was still a young man. Originally from Albania, he came to the UK illegally to find work to help pay for his parents' medical bills. The court heard that he was remorseful for becoming involved with the drug business.

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The judge, the Recorder of Leeds, Guy Kearl KC, said that due to various stages of growth of the plants, it "indicated ongoing production". He told Muha: "It was a commercial operation but one which falls short of an industrial operation. It's clear you performed a managerial role."

He jailed him for 32 months and warned him he likely faces deportation once released.