A man spent months tending to cannabis plants worth hundreds of thousands of pounds in cottages in the Angus countryside to pay off debts in his homeland of Albania.
Erseld Rama was brought from HMP Perth to Forfar Sheriff Court where he pled guilty to producing and being concerned in supplying the Class B drug.
The 26-year-old was discovered by police running cannabis farms in neighbouring cottages near Lundie last autumn.
The court heard a wider investigation is taking place and Rama was not responsible for renting the cottages.
He was locked up for 21 months.
Debts in Albania
Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson told the court police attended two cottages in rural Angus on October 18 last year and found Rama inside.
Officers found cultivations in both properties, along with tents, boxes, thermometers and other items used to grow cannabis.
In all, 358 plants were seized – believed by officers to be the first crop.
Police valued the stash as being worth £71,600 if sold by the kilogram, or up to £268,500 if dealt in smaller quantities.
Rama was interviewed and informed police he’d been working as a “gardener” since the middle of July.
He told officers he was doing so to pay off debts he had in his homeland of Albania.
However, he refused to engage with questions relating to human trafficking.
Landlord never saw accused
His solicitor Brian Allison said: “His involvement was to the extent of being involved in producing – the gardener, no more than that.
“His intention was that if police had not attended at the property when they did, then he would have been leaving there approximately two or three weeks thereafter.
“When he was interviewed by police, it was he who told them that he had been involved in this production for a period of approximately three months.
“He was not the person who had rented the properties – the Crown accept he was not involved in renting the properties.
“The owner of the properties had never at any time seen Mr Rama.
“He recognises the court would have to impose a custodial sentence.”
Bigger investigation
Rama has been on remand in Perth Prison since appearing in court in private the day after police attended.
The first offender was aided in the dock by an interpreter throughout proceedings.
He pled guilty to producing cannabis at Neuk Cottages at Pitermo, near Lundie, between July 17 and October 18.
He accepted that on the day police attended, he was concerned in supplying the drugs.
The court heard that productions seized from the premises are “part of a larger investigation.”
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown jailed Rama for 21 months, backdated.
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