Shop blaze in Leeds uncovered £25,000 cannabis farm in flat above

Crews were called to the sunbed shop on Middleton Road in Belle Isle to tackle the fire on the evening of December 28, 2021, but during the proceeding investigation officers found the loft of the first-floor flat had been converted into a drugs factory, complete with lights, fans and transformers.

The electricity had also been bypassed and the police found the loft space had been separated into a three area, with a total of 84 plants. There were 45 mature plants, and 39 immature, with police forensic experts estimating it could produce a potential yield worth around £24,800, prosecutor Lily Wildman told Leeds Crown Court.

It was not thought the drug operation had caused the fire.

Sukhjit Shokar, whose partner’s name was on the tenancy for the flat, was interviewed by police three weeks later but gave no comments. He later admitted a charge of producing cannabis. The 52-year-old has relevant previous convictions, including possession of Class A drugs, and in 2016 he was convicted of permitting his premises to be used for the production of cannabis, for which he received a community order.

Mitigating on his behalf, Stephen Smithson said that Shokar, of Middleton Road, had turned his back on drugs and had obtained a job with the broadband firm, Openreach. However, he said he still owed a debt and was threatened into creating the cannabis farm.

He claimed it was a “one-off” and knew how to grow the drugs, having previously run a hydroponics shop.

Mr Smithson said: “His previous involvement came back to haunt him. It was the only way he could discharge the debt. There was no other reason when he was working honestly.”

The judge, Nicholas Worsley KC told Shokar: “You had an expectation of significant financial advantage, you were essentially behind the grow but I accept it was not driven by you, but by others.”

He handed him a 24-month jail sentence, suspended for 24 months, and gave him 10 rehabilitation days. He told him: “You have been very lucky today, do not let me down.”