Leeds Crown Court: Illegal immigrant caught hiding in Wakefield cellar stacked with rotting cannabis plants

Jurgent Syla was caught after police raided a property in Brighton Street on January 13. They found 69 growing cannabis plants, as well as a substantial quality of heat lamps and other growing equipment. The electricity had also been tampered with.

Leeds Crown Court heard today that 19-year-old Syla was found hiding in the cellar of the property, which was “stacked high” with rotting cannabis plants. He was arrested and charged with the production of cannabis and the abstraction of electricity, pleading guilty to both offences.

The defendant, who required an Albanian interpreter, has no previous convictions and said he travelled to the UK on a small boat. The Home Office has confirmed he has no valid leave to say in the UK and is here illegally.

Syla, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 13 months detention in a young offenders institute and will likely be deported on release. Judge Tom Bayliss KC said that Syla played a significant role in the cannabis operation as a gardener, but accepted that due to his age, he was unlikely to have had any influence on those above him in the chain.

Addressing the defendant, Judge Bayliss said: “You are, I regret to say, one of a growing number of offenders coming before the courts having involved yourself in such activity. Cannabis poses a significant harm to the community. The financial rewards are high and the courts must reflect that in the sentences passed.”