AN Albanian man who crossed the English Channel in a dinghy in search of a better life was today jailed after he was caught tending a Bradford cannabis farm. 

Jurgen Cuni, 31, was arrested by the police at the address in Ormondroyd Avenue, Wibsey, on July 23, Bradford Crown Court heard.

He pleaded guilty to production of cannabis and was imprisoned for 19 weeks. 

The court heard that the police smelt cannabis when they looked through the letter box at the semi-detached property. Then they spotted Cuni hiding behind the door. 

He was immediately forthcoming with them, saying he had been there for two weeks tending the nine large cannabis plants growing upstairs and the 42 smaller ones. 

The electricity meter had been bypassed and there was evidence of an earlier harvest. The police team found recently cut plants, drying cannabis, plant waste and used pots. 

Cuni had two phones, £17 in cash, Albanian identity documents and the door keys. 

He said he was the victim of modern slavery, working at the farm to pay back money he owed in his homeland. 

Ella Embleton, Cuni’s barrister, said he had been candid with the police when he was interviewed. He told them he was watering the plants to pay off a debt to someone in Albania. 

Miss Embleton said he was desperate to go home and had been in communication with the Home Office to be returned as soon as possible. 

His grandmother had suffered a stroke and his priority was to get back to Albania, where his family all lived, to look after her. 

Cuni came to the United Kingdom in March last year thinking his life would be better here, Miss Embleton stated. 

He had crossed the Channel in a dinghy with others and been detained by the Home Office but then released into the country. He had been in custody in HMP Leeds since he was apprehended at the cannabis farm. 

Judge Jonathan Gibson said Cuni was a gardener at the address for a few days, playing a lesser role in the enterprise.  

It was an ongoing operation given the plant waste that was also found. 

The bypassed meter was a serious feature of the case. It had put those in neighbouring properties at risk and anyone at the house itself, including the defendant. 

Cuni would have been jailed for six months after a trial but his guilty plea reduced the sentence to 19 weeks.