A MAN has been jailed after the discovery of a second Workington cannabis factory in the space of five days.

Four men aged in their 20s and 30s were charged last week after a cannabis farm was located inside a property on the town’s Market Place.

More than 200 plants with a potential value of around £388,000 were recovered. The men had been arrested after a car was stopped on the M6 in Lancashire.

And this afternoon Monday, January 23, a 20-year-old man appeared at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court after a second sizeable cannabis crop was found across two floors of an address on Gladstone Street in Workington on Saturday.

Prosecutor George Shelley told the court Albanian national Din Truni was the property’s sole occupant.“A substantial cannabis grow was discovered,” said Mr Shelley.

“This included heat lighting, illumination, irrigation and plant food. Mr Truni was arrested and there concluded to be 200 cannabis plants with an estimated street level value of between £56,000 and £177,000.”

From the dock, and with the assistance of an interpreter, Truni admitted being concerned in cannabis production.

Defence solicitor Duncan Campbell told the court Truni had understood there were 80 plants on the premises.

“It may only be 80 plants that he knew of,” said Mr Campbell. Giving background about the defendant, he added: “This young man arrived here two months ago. He left Albania for a number of reasons including the illness of his parents.

“It was obviously desperate circumstances because he actually arrived here in a small boat. He arrived with absolutely nothing. He lost everything on his travels. So he had no money, no accommodation, no contacts and no English.

“Effectively when he met somebody they offered him this post and he was in such a desperate situation he agreed to reside there and to tend the plants.

“It is a very minor role and he was taken advantage of but there is no question of him being forced to do it, other than the circumstances he found himself in.”

District Judge John Temperley opted to pass sentence straight away, jailing Truni — who faces deportation when released — for eight months.“

The offence itself clearly merits an immediate term of imprisonment,” said the district judge. “But also in your case no community options are realistic when you are here as an illegal entrant.”

The four men charged with alleged cannabis production involvement linked to the Market Place address are due to appear at Carlisle Crown Court on February 20.

READ MORE: Cannabis farm worth estimated £388k found in Market Place, Workington