A man who came to the UK illegally ended up the “trusted gardener” at a cannabis factory in Bolton.

Orgest Rizaj, 31, was caught after police raided a house on Charles Street, Farnworth, on May 15 last year and found hundreds of cannabis plants with other equipment.

Bolton Crown Court heard how he had tried to get away as police raided the house.

Prosecutor Keira Shaw said: “A short while later officers were informed by a neighbour that the defendant in this case had jumped into their garden and over the wall into another neighbouring address.”

But officers quickly caught up with him and arrested him.

Hundreds of plants were foundHundreds of plants were found (Image: GMP)

Dressed in a plain grey t-shirt Rizaj looked on via video-link from prison as Ms Shaw told the court what the officers found as they search house in Farnworth he had been staying at.

She said that the officers found hundreds of cannabis plants across three bedrooms and the loft.

They also found bulbs, saplings, scales and plant feeder in the house, while a statement from an electricity technician said that power at the house had been bypassed.

Rizaj, who has no previous convictions but admitted to being in the UK illegally, gave no comment when interviewed by police.

Orgest Rizaj was a trusted gardenerOrgest Rizaj was a trusted gardener (Image: GMP)

But when brought before the magistrates’ court he pleaded guilty to producing Class B drugs.

James Preece, defending, said that Rizaj deserved credit for confessing to his crime at the first opportunity.

He told the court that Rizaj, of no fixed abode, had come to the UK hoping to find a “better future” but could not find legitimate work because of his illegal status.

Mr Preece said: “He was struggling financially and agreed, and made the poor decision, to look after the cannabis farm.”

He argued that Rizaj had played what was closer to a “lesser” than “significant” role and had no influence on those above him in the drug trade.

ALSO READ: Police acting on information from the community discover cannabis farm

ALSO READ: The court cases that shook Bolton in 2023

ALSO READ: 'Our system is crumbling' as 'vast cuts' see nearly half of Bolton trials delayed

But the Honorary Recorder for Bolton Judge Martin Walsh reminded the court that Rizaj had been “recruited, effectively, to act as a cultivator, a gardener, in the production of cannabis.”

He added that a house had been “taken over for use as a cultivation factory.”

Addressing the defendant directly, Judge Walsh said: “You were clearly trusted in the cultivation process and there must have been an expectation of at least some financial gain on your part.”

He jailed Rizaj for a year and told him that on his release he would be subject to an automatic deportation order.