Sheffield Crown Court: Police release image of Illegal immigrant who oversaw a cannabis harvest to pay off debt

An illegal immigrant agreed to oversee and tend to a cannabis harvest at a South Yorkshire property so he could pay back a £5,000 debt.
By Jon Cooper
Published 25th Aug 2022, 08:24 BST
Updated 2nd Sep 2022, 11:22 BST
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Sheffield Crown Court heard on August 22 how Arvanit Dodaj, aged 29, was caught hiding in the loft of a property where police found 318 cannabis plants in five rooms during a raid.

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Samuel Ponniah, prosecuting, said: “On attending at the property officers found a large number of cannabis plants in multiple rooms. Only one room was not being used for cannabis and that appeared to be a room for living quarters.

Pictured is Arvanit Dodaj, aged 29, of Cooper Street, Doncaster, who was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to 20 months of custody after he pleaded guilty to producing class B drug cannabis at a property on Cooper Street, Doncaster, and to controlling criminal property after police found 318 cannabis plants and £351.51 in cash.Pictured is Arvanit Dodaj, aged 29, of Cooper Street, Doncaster, who was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to 20 months of custody after he pleaded guilty to producing class B drug cannabis at a property on Cooper Street, Doncaster, and to controlling criminal property after police found 318 cannabis plants and £351.51 in cash.
Pictured is Arvanit Dodaj, aged 29, of Cooper Street, Doncaster, who was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to 20 months of custody after he pleaded guilty to producing class B drug cannabis at a property on Cooper Street, Doncaster, and to controlling criminal property after police found 318 cannabis plants and £351.51 in cash.
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“In these five other rooms was a total of 318 cannabis plants. The defendant was found in the loft of the property hidden behind panels and sheeting.”

MORE: Police discover £200,000 cannabis farm in huge police operation in Sheffield

Police found £138 in a drawer and a wallet was discovered with £213.51 in cash during the raid at Cooper Street, Hyde Park, Doncaster, according to Mr Ponniah, which was all deemed to be criminal property.

Albanian national Dodaj told police he had entered the country illegally and had accrued a £5,000 debt to do so and he had been offered the job of looking after the plants to pay the money back.

MORE: Cannabis plants worth £1m seized by South Yorkshire Police in series of raids

Dodaj, of Cooper Street, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to producing class B drug cannabis and to controlling criminal property, namely the cash, after the raid on July 21.

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Defence barrister Michael Cane-Soothill said: “It seems agreed this defendant was performing a limited function under direction and if he was not engaged by pressure he was certainly engaged by a degree of exploitation due to his circumstances.

“I do not think there was any involvement at an operational or management level and he did not involve others in the operation.”

Mr Cane-Soothill explained former joiner Dodaj aims to return to Albania and work to pay off his debt.

He said: “He has been at pains to ask me to apologise to the court and to explain that he is sincerely sorry for all the trouble he has caused.”

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Judge Graham Reeds QC who sentenced Dodaj to 20 months of custody told him: “You chose to play a large part in growing that crop for money. I accept that the money would have been used to reduce the debt you incurred when you chose to enter the UK illegally.”