A man pleaded guilty to making £39,000 worth of cannabis at an “extensive, proficient and sophisticated” cannabis farm in Leek, a court heard.
Jonathan Howcroft, 52, of Glenfield Drive, Stockport, pleaded guilty and was given a two-year suspended sentence in Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
Police searched a storage unit called Unit Two in Leek on April 8 where they found cannabis plants and growing equipment.
Jonathan Dickinson, prosecuting, told the court: “The storage unit had been sectioned off into rooms.
“In the grow room, they found 106 cannabis plants, 75 already harvested plants, six electric fans, 38 lights and sprinklers.
“In a room known as the nursery room, hidden behind wooden boards, 98 plants, 49 already harvested plants, five lights and one fan were found.
“In the drying room, a total of 311 grams of cannabis and seven plants were found in that area.
“A total of 211 plants growing and 124 plants already harvested were found in the storage unit.”
The cannabis had an estimated street value of £39,000.
An estimated £23,800 worth of cannabis from this unit is thought to already be on the street.
The electrical power-point for the unit had also been tampered with.
Howcroft had six previous fraud offences in 2005 but nothing drug related.
Mitigating, John Williams told the court: “He went bankrupt in 2015 and has been struggling since.
“He was asked to provide the premises and he stupidly agreed to as he was that desperate.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that others were involved in this.”
Howcroft was also given a six-month concurrent sentence for abstracting electricity and 120 hours unpaid work.
Sentencing Howcroft, Judge David Fletcher said: “This is a serious offence but I know it was not just you.
“You did this out of desperation financially, why else would a man of 52 with no previous drug related offences do something like this?”
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