Man jailed for his role in Grimsby cannabis factory

Police discovered a lucrative cannabis factory that was being looked after by a whisky-drinking "Festival of Weed" fan who shamelessly boasted about travelling all over the country to smoke cannabis. The plants that were being grown in three upstairs rooms at the house were capable of producing cannabis that could have been worth a potential £120,000 on the streets. But the cannabis enthusiast was being paid so little money that it "would barely pay his whisky bill" let alone fund any extravagant living, Hull Crown Court heard.

Arunas Peldzius, 48, who had been living in Sherwood Road, Grimsby, but was recently in custody on remand, admitted producing cannabis on January 10. Rachel Scott, prosecuting, said that police went to a house in Sherwood Road to execute a drugs warrant and found Peldzius inside. All three upstairs rooms were fitted with lights and fans and there were numerous pots with cannabis plants or stems in them.



"The plants themselves had been harvested," said Miss Scott. Four large bags containing cannabis were found downstairs. There was a total of 17.

04kg of cannabis, with an estimated wholesale value of £42,000 and a street value of £120,000. "It was an operation capable of producing significant quantities for commercial use," said Miss Scott. Peldzius told the police that he entered the UK via plane in early November but police discovered that it was actually October.

He had been at the house for two to three weeks before he was arrested. He claimed that he travelled all over the country to smoke cannabis and met a man at a "Festival of Weed". They got into chats on Facebook and the man invited him to stay.

"He believed that he was going to drink and smoke weed with that person," said Miss Scott. Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from Grimsby with our free newsletter Peldzius claimed that he had no access to some of the rooms at the house but he had a front door key and he could come and go as he pleased. "He wasn't forced or threatened to stay at the address," said Miss Scott.

Peldzius claimed that he was not involved in the cannabis growing and he denied ever seeing the plants in the house. He claimed that he had been given 10 to 15g of cannabis to stay there. "He said that the cannabis found in the bags was rubbish and that he thought it was going to be used to make oil or cakes," said Miss Scott.

Tim Savage, mitigating, said that Peldzius was not in this country illegally. "He has clearly been used by others more sophisticated than he as a caretaker," said Mr Savage. "He is not the man who set up the grow and he would not have been sharing in the profits.

He was performing a limited function under direction. Join the FREE Grimsby Live WhatsApp Community Get all the latest stories, sent straight to your WhatsApp - all you need to do is click the link . We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . "He is a man put there by others to look after the cannabis and there was no one beneath him in the chain.

He had no influence on those above him in the chain and he had an expectation of limited financial advantage. "Yes, he expected more money than he would earn in his own country but it seems that he was earning an amount that would barely pay his whisky bill." Peldzius had no previous convictions.

The court decided that Peldzius played a significant, not limited, role in the operation, which was capable of producing significant amounts of cannabis for commercial use. He entered the country with the intention of growing cannabis. Peldzius was jailed for two years and three months.

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