A man who house-sat nearly 640,000 of weed in a hotel under renovation is going to jail – The GrowthOp

A U.K. man will be spending the next 12 months behind bars for care-taking a commercial cannabis grow that is estimated to be worth about a half-million pounds.

A judge recently sentenced Flavio Picaku after he pleaded guilty to producing a controlled Class B drug, according to ITV News.

The plan seemed solid: grow scads of weed plants, 608 in all, in The Commercial Hotel in Pontypridd, which is in the process of being renovated.

But the entrepreneur missed an important detail, namely the intense smell of weed generated by the grow in the four-storey hotel. Nosy neighbours noticed, prompting complaints and a subsequent visit by police on May 31, ITV News reports.

There they found Picaku who was living in the hotel sans permission from building owners in one of the seven rooms that filled with 608 cannabis plants. But first officers had to use their feet to break through a glass panel and gain access.

The man was arrested. The plants, 16 to 52 kilograms of weed worth an estimated 638,400 and hydroponic equipment were seized.

Picaku reported to police that he was unable to find work, having illegally emigrated to the U.K. / Photo: Twitter, South Wales Police/ Photo: Twitter, New South Wales Police

Picaku reported to police that he was unable to find work after illegally emigrating to the U.K. from Albania. He said he accepted an offer to feed and water the plants in the already established grow-op.

Picakus defence barrister described him as paid gardener in the illegal enterprise, according to ITV News. But the sentencing judge noted he must have known it was a commercial operation given the number of plants involved.

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A man who house-sat nearly 640,000 of weed in a hotel under renovation is going to jail - The GrowthOp