A CANNABIS ‘gardener’ was caught with more than 150 plants with a potential value of between £40,000 and £140,000 in Southampton.

However, Bledar Shatri, a 22-year-old cannabis factory “custodian”, claimed he had been forced into his role, a court heard.

Prosecution barrister, Alec Williams, said: “On the 10th of March this year officers affected a search warrant in Denzil Avenue at a quarter to ten in the morning.

“They knocked on the door loudly and identified themselves.

“Ultimately entry was forced.

“The defendant was located within the property. He was the only person in the house.

What officers found within the premises has been described by a drugs expert as a commercial operation in terms of growing cannabis.

“There were some 162 plants in various stages of lifecycle.

“Mr Shatri was the only individual present and the property was predominantly kitted out as a cannabis factory.

“He appears to have lived in the front room on a mattress on the floor.

During the raid in the Bevois area of the city, police seized two mobile phones.

Addressing Southampton Crown Court, Mr Williams went on to say: “A cursory examination of the photos on one of the phones showed images from a matter of days previously showing the defendant posing in front of a vehicle and in a park in the local area."

Shatri, of no fixed address, was arrested and during a police interview stated in essence “he had been forced to undertake the ‘gardening’ within the property against his will”, Mr Williams added.

He was charged with the production of a class B drug, to which he pleaded guilty during an earlier court hearing.

The court heard that Shatr, an Albanian national of previous good character, had been removed from the UK twice before and that while in custody he had recently been served deportation papers.

Defending, Laura Deuxberry said that her client had found the court process extremely stressful and that he is a very anxious young man.

She added that he has struggled in the custodial environment.

During sentencing, Judge Peter Henry said: “I am prepared to accept that you were the gardener and custodian at [the address in] Denzil Avenue which had been converted into a commercial cannabis factory."

He added: “I do not accept that you have been trafficked, coerced and beaten or forced into this role unless I hear evidence about the matter.”

Shatri was jailed for 24 months.