A MAN has been spared prison after admitting to growing 120 cannabis plants with a street value of up to £100,000 in Andover.

Officers attended the house in Old Winton Road at around 4.30pm Tuesday, January 4.

Inside, they found around 120 cannabis plants in various rooms, as well as ventilation and lighting equipment.

Last month, Petrit Kovaci pleaded guilty to producing a controlled drug of class B.

The 34-year-old was remanded in custody until his sentencing at Winchester Crown Court this morning (March 10).

READ MORE: Man, 34, arrested after 120 cannabis plants found in Andover property

David Richards, prosecuting, described the property as being “significantly altered” to accommodate the “cannabis farm”, with “carefully constructed grow rooms” on every floor.

There were a total of 120 plants, with an estimated street value of between £32,600 and £100,800.

He added that Kovaci had come to England in early 2021, and had worked in construction for a few months before finding himself unemployed. He was approached by a Romanian man, who told him he needed to pay off his debt from his travel to the UK.

Mr Richards added that Kovaci agreed because “he feared that his family in Albania would be hurt”.

Kovaci was driven to the property in Andover and instructed to water and care for the plants. 

However, he could leave at any time, and was found with £700 in unrelated cash, and two mobile phones with pictures of him socialising.

In mitigation, Jessica Goldring, defending, added that her client had not changed his story throughout the process and had no previous convictions. 

READ MORE: Petrit Kovaci admits producing 120 cannabis plants in Andover

Ms Goldring said that Kovaci was “pressured and frightened” and showed “maximum remorse”. She said he understood that he could have left, but that it would have been difficult and that, on arrest he told officers ‘help me, I need to be kept safe’.

She added that he is a trained medical lab technician and “hopes when he is settled and safe to look at his education and build a life in this country”.

Judge Susan Evans QC handed Kovaci an eight-month sentence, suspended for two years on the condition that he commit no further crimes in that period and is electronically tagged at his cousin’s home in London, between 8pm and 5am for the next six weeks.

She said that Kovaci was “effectively the gardener”, adding: “It is plain that you had not rented the property, however you were by no means a prisoner in the building. You had no influence on those above you, although I think the scale was obvious.”

The judge continued: “I am persuaded that this is a sentence that I should suspend because it seems to me that there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”

She also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the plants and equipment, and the payment of a victim surcharge.

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