Telford drug farm pair spared jail term
Two men have avoided jail for running a cannabis factory in Telford when a judge heard they had been threatened and bullied into it.
Neighbours raised suspicion about the property in Domas Way in Dawley.
Police officers seized 405 plants which at the time were thought could have produced £400,000 worth of drugs.
Marcin Piskorek, 40, and Pawel Geratowski, 31, were yesterday sentenced to 120 hours’ unpaid work in the community each after the court heard they were threatened into running the ‘farm’ by other men following a dispute over a damaged car.
The court was told they had not made any money from the enterprise.
Mr Dean Easthope, prosecuting barrister, told Shrewsbury Crown Court that about half of the plants were in a “spindly” condition and that as a result would not have produced a “high yield”.
He said the men handed themselves into police after reading about the discovery of the farm in the Shropshire Star.
Both pleaded guilty to producing cannabis between December 2016 and September 2017.
He said: “On September 27, 2017 a member of the public and her daughter reported that the property was not secure.
“The police found 405 cannabis plants together with paraphernalia, lights, tyres and water filters.”
Threatened
Marcin claimed he had been threatened by some men, whose names he did not know, and was ordered to grow the plants.
Marcin, a crane operator, admitted the offence on the basis of being threatened.
Pawel, a gardener, claimed he joined in to help his friend get out of trouble.
Mr Robert Edwards, barrister mitigating for Marcin, said: “He could have gone to the police when the threats were made. The threats were real. This case would have never got as far as a trial before a jury. With the benefit of hindsight he could have acted differently.”
Both men, of Kingfisher Way, Apley, were sentenced to 12-month community orders to be completed within 12 months.
They must each carry out 120 hours of unpaid work in the community, each pay £1,200 costs and a victims surcharge.
Judge Anthony Lowe told them: “It must be understood that whatever the reason, if you get involved in the drugs trade the courts will regard it as a serious matter. Cannabis is not a harmless drug.”
