THE overwhelming stench of cannabis led police to a home where four men were found sitting in a circle packing up drugs, a court heard.

The four Basildon men, including two brothers, were busted by police when they were found in a drugs farm with up to £40,000 of cannabis.

One of the men, Tyler Gillam, was described as an “idiot” by his own barrister when being sentenced.

The 19-year-old, of Gardenia Court, Basildon, along with Daniel Pearce, 29, of Cleveland Close, Basildon, and brothers Bradley and Braden McStay, aged 31 and 29 and of Nelson Road and Long Riding, Basildon, admitted their roles in producing cannabis at Basildon Crown Court.

Police responded to the calls at around 4.25pm on April 25 last year, with residents spotting a car parked up at a property in Grays and the smell of cannabis.

Officers made their way into the property, and the final door into the room had an unlocked padlock on it.

Inside, there were two tents, one of which had cannabis plants in the process of drying.

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Prosecuting, Siobhan Molloy said: “They were sat in circle and were cutting the cannabis and placing it into bags.

“They came out one at a time and were arrested for cultivating cannabis.”

Ms Molloy said that 113 plants were found in the two tents, and the street value was worth anywhere between £12,000 and £39,900.

The men admitted their roles on the basis that a third party had offered them cash to cut and bag the plants.

Mitigating for Gillam, Christopher Surtees-Jones said: “He is an idiot, I won’t spare his blushes.

“He lives with his parents, left school at the age of 16 with a reasonable number of GCSEs, and has been in employment since.

“He’s applied for a job as an estate agent in Dubai, and has been offered a job in Dubai.”

Mitigating for Pearce and the McStays, Shannon O’Connor said it was a “foolish decision” that they “regret dearly”, and said Pearce had secured a job in Dubai.

Judge Samantha Leigh said the four had “lesser” roles.

All four men received eight months prison suspended for 12 months, with Gillam and Braden McStay receiving 150 hours unpaid work, Bradley McStay 200 hours, and Pearce a four week curfew from 4pm to 9am.