Kidwelly cannabis farm uncovered after police find photos on man’s phone
Elian Thana, 29, an Albanian national who arrived in the UK on a rubber boat and later had his asylum claim refused, told the court he became involved in organised crime to repay debts linked to his journey.
Police pulled over a Volkswagen van on the eastbound M4 near Swansea on December 20 last year after noticing it appeared overloaded. Inside, officers found soil, lights, fertiliser, irrigation kit and other equipment commonly used to grow cannabis.
Thana, who was travelling as a passenger, claimed he was delivering the items to a house in Swansea but couldn’t give officers an address.
When police examined two mobile phones seized from him, they found photographs and videos showing Thana inside two cannabis factories — one in Lady Street, Kidwelly, and another in Birmingham.
A raid on the Kidwelly property uncovered nine rooms packed with 201 cannabis plants. Prosecutors told Cardiff Crown Court the potential yield was between 6kg and 17kg, with a street value of £24,000 to £88,400.
A second search at the Birmingham site uncovered 147 plants across three rooms, worth up to £62,400.
Thana, of Redford Crescent, Bristol, later admitted cannabis production. The court heard he already had a previous conviction for the same offence.
In interview, he gave conflicting accounts about owing money, at one point claiming his family in Albania had a £10,000 medical debt, before later saying he owed nothing.
Judge Paul Hobson jailed him for three years. The Home Office will now decide whether he should be deported after serving his sentence.
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