£440,000 of cannabis found at former care home
A cannabis factory in a former care home had enough plants to fetch £440,000 on the streets, a judge heard.
The drugs were discovered at Unity House at Llandrino, near Welshpool.
Ioan Copil, 35, a Romanian national who is a car salesman and valeter of Church Street, Hadley, Telford, received a 16 month suspended sentence and must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to being concerned in the production of the drug.
Judge Peter Heywood was told at Caernarfon Crown Court yesterday that police found the cannabis in May last year after being informed about suspicious activity.
Copil, wearing a hi-vis jacket was at the scene with another Romanian, a co-defendant who is now on the run.
There was no forensic evidence to link Copil with production of the drug or the interior of the building. He had been paid £100-a-day to ensure the building was secure, his barrister Waheed Baber explained.
Prosecuting, Elen Owen said there had been 200 mature plants and 800 smaller ones.
Judge Heywood said: “There were suggestions that three or four others were involved. It’s difficult to ascribe a significant role to him (Copil) without evidence.”
However he did have a drugs trafficking conviction in 2008.
Mr Baber stated that Copil had mentioned three or four others being involved but had said he wasn’t prepared to name any “because it meant trouble for my family.” His role had been linked to securing the property.
Copil had been in this country for some time, was estranged from his wife and there were two young children.
Judge Heywood said no DNA nor fingerprints had linked Copil with the production of the drug.
His journeys to the house had been tracked by automatic number plate recognition.
