AN ILLEGAL immigrant who was caught working as a “gardener” in a £135,000 cannabis farm at a Canvey boat yard has been jailed for a year.

Florjan Lika, formerly of Canvey Road, was found in the 77-plant cannabis farm at the boat yard, off Canvey Road, during a police raid.

He was jailed at Basildon Crown Court yesterday for his role in the operation, with the court hearing he was forced to work at the drugs factory.

The court heard that the 31-year-old came to the UK from France on the back of a lorry.

He was assisted in court by an Albanian-speaking interpreter.

Gemma Rose, prosecuting, said: “Police raided the commercial premises at the boat yard on November 2.

“When officers arrived he was there with a cannabis production across three rooms, and one room was set up for living.

“There were 77 plants at the later stages of growth and these were a few days or a few weeks from being ready to harvest.

“The yield of the 77 plants was about 13.5kg and the wholesale value was between £54,000 and £67,000.

“The street value of the yield was £135,000.

“The owner of the premises was spoken to and said he had put the site on Facebook marketplace and rented it out for car and tyre sales.

“The defendant said he was forced to run the cannabis farm.”

She said the crown accepted he was a gardener at the farm rather than playing any larger role in the drugs operation.

Mitigating, Libby Anderson told the court: “He came here from France and thought he was coming to make a better life for himself, earn some money, and send some back.

“He has been a legitimate gardener in Germany and wants to go back to that line of work.

“He says it was a one-off and he made a huge mistake.

“He came here illegally in the back of a lorry essentially.”

Sentencing, Judge Ian Graham told Lika he was sufficiently involved with the enterprise and trusted to be alone with the significant cannabis farm.

Lika was charged with producing a controlled drug of Class B.

He was sentenced to one year and one month imprisonment.