A man who was found in a bin after fleeing from police has admitted to running a cannabis farm from his house.
Armando Hysaj, 24, tried to run away when approached by officers investigating reports of a large cannabis grow on the same street he was seen standing on.
Police dogs quickly managed to track him down though and found Hysaj hiding in a nearby bin, with officers describing him as having “an overpowering aroma of cannabis”.
More than 100 cannabis plants were then discovered growing in the bedrooms and the garage at Hysaj’s house in The Rushes, Mansfield, during a raid yesterday (7 February).
After being arrested and charged, Hysaj appeared before Nottingham Magistrates’ Court today (8 February) where he pleaded guilty to the production of cannabis.
He will appear before Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on 1 March 2022.
Nottinghamshire Police also seized around 40 cannabis plants found growing at a house in Newton Street, Mansfield, while carrying out a separate warrant yesterday (7 February).
A 47-year-old man was arrested in connection with the grow but has since been released under investigation.
Inspector Kylie Davies, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “I’d like to commend our officers from the Mansfield local neighbourhood and response policing teams for acting quickly to help us take a large quantity of cannabis off our streets.
“Cannabis farms such as these ones, however big or small, are a blight on the communities we serve and sadly have much wider implications than some people think.
“It is no exaggeration at all to say that drugs ruin lives. I’d certainly include the growing and selling of cannabis in this as, contrary to the opinion of some, it really isn’t a victimless crime.
“The production of cannabis often has wider links to organised crime. Grows such as this also provide a very real fire risk to other neighbouring properties because of the heat generated by specialist growing equipment.
“There is no place for this type of illicit drug activity in our society so we will continue to do everything we can to make it harder for these criminals to operate on our streets.”
