A second cannabis farmer who entered the UK illegally to convert rural Angus cottages into a £270k drug den has been jailed.
Convicted drug trafficker Renato Kaloti paid 13,000 Euro to be brought into Britain in the back of a lorry.
He tended to illicit crops worth hundreds of thousands of pounds in a remote cottage near the Sidlaw Hills.
His operation was uncovered by a SEPA officer and police swooped on the cultivation, seizing more than 300 plants.
Kaloti, who was once given a seven-year ban from Switzerland for drug offences, was jailed for two years.
Last year, fellow Albanian national Erseld Rama was jailed for producing cannabis in the cottage next door.
Operation uncovered
Dundee Sheriff Court heard that in July 2020 Kaloti was jailed for 32 months and banned from Switzerland for being involved in trafficking heroin in the country.
Kaloti came to the UK illegally to work for another Albanian man in producing cannabis.
Two unknown men rented the cottages – which are adjacent to each other and share a driveway – in cash from a local farmer.
Just before 3.55pm on the day in question, an official from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) arrived to query irregular electric meter readings.
He called police after noticing a meter was bypassed and a “strong smell of cannabis” from one of the cottages.
‘Arrest me, I’m done’
Fiscal depute Joanne Ritchie said an officer made their way to the rear of the property after getting no reply at the front door.
“She knocked on the rear door and a male voice responded from within and asked who it was.
“Around two minutes later, the accused presented himself at the side door of the property and was calm.
“He presented his arms crossed over and out in front of him whilst stating ‘arrest me, I’m done’.”
When asked by the officers what he meant, Kaloti said: “I think you know, I show you”, before identifying another cannabis farm in the neighbouring cottage.
Cottage packed with paraphanalia
Kaloti spoke freely during his police interview and said he paid thousands to travel to the UK in the back of a lorry from Belgium, arriving in London in December 2023.
His mother took out a 15,000 Euro loan to allow him to travel.
Kaloti claimed he met the other Albanian man and another British national in Edinburgh, before being taken to the cottages where the industrial-scale drugs operations were already up and running.
Ms Ritchie added: “Every room in the cottage was fully utilised for the production of cannabis.
“There were numerous items found that was indicative of commercial supply including plant pots, water bottles, soil, plant nutrients, lights with reflective covers and wiring.”
Multiple mature cannabis plants were found in the other cottage, where Kaloti had been staying, with lamps and ducting vented into the fireplace discovered.
Across both properties, police found a total of 309 cannabis plants with a maximum potential value of £231,750.
‘Offered nothing positive to Scotland’
Kaloti, 28, remanded in Perth Prison and aided by an Albanian interpreter in court, pled guilty to producing cannabis at the cottage near Lundie on April 19 last year.
His solicitor Peter Malone said: “When living in Albania, he lived with his mother and his sister. I’m advised his father sadly passed away during the period of his remand in HMP Perth.
“His position is that he entered the UK illegally seeking some sort of work and when unable to find this was offered an opportunity to involve himself and assist as a gardener within the cultivation.
“He cooperated fully with police and it is understood that he will be returned to Albania on completion of his sentence.”
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael jailed Kaloti for two years.
He said: “This is unacceptable behaviour.
“You have no right to enter this country without permission and no right to get involved in the production of drugs.
“You’ve already received a prison sentence in Switzerland for a similar crime and were expelled from there. You will most likely be expelled from this country too.
“As far as I can tell, you have offered nothing positive to Scotland.”
Last year, fellow Albanian Erseld Rama, 26, was jailed for 21 months for producing the cannabis grown in the neighbouring property.
He told police he was working at the site to pay off debts in his homeland.
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