An Albanian man allegedly trafficked to Fife to work as a lookout at a cannabis farm spent nearly nine months behind bars after being found living in squalor, a court has heard.
Ardit Beraj previously admitted being concerned in the supply of the class B drug at Hilltop Farm, Upper Steelend, near Saline, between September 1 and November 27 in 2018.
Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard 250 cannabis plants – with a maximum potential street value of £210,000 – were recovered from a chicken coop at the farm in a police raid.
The building had been rented out to someone who said they were from Ayr, on the understanding it would be used for legitimate work.
‘Duped’
The court heard Beraj, 27, had been smuggled into the UK illegally in the back of a lorry from Belgium about four years ago.
Defence advocate Lewis Kennedy said his client found himself in debt to a criminal gang and ended up “beholden and threatened” by the people who facilitated his passage into the country.
Mr Kennedy said: “He was duped in the sense he thought he would be doing something else – specifically renovation work – but was taken to the (cannabis farm) from England and soon put to work as a lookout and rarely left it since his arrival.
“He was subject to threats and intimidation.
“Mr Beraj played an inferior part in the offence.
“He was a very small cog in the wheel.
“If anything he was living in squalor, not having showered for a period of two weeks, subject to hot-bedding arrangements (more than one person to a bed).
“This was scarcely a lifestyle choice.
“Living arrangements were demonstrably exploitative.
“It’s perfectly reasonable to infer more significant others were responsible for the running of this operation.”
Police raid
Police raided the building following a tip-off and discovered a large and sophisticated cannabis cultivation involving growing tents, heat lamps and hydroponic equipment.
The electricity meter had also been bypassed.
There were three separate growing rooms contained in the coop – each with its own ventilation, heating and lighting.
In total, 250 cannabis plants were counted by searching officers, with a potential yield of between seven and 21kg.
The maximum wholesale value from this would be £73,500 and the street value, if sold in £10 per gramme deals, would be £210,000.
Like an ‘open prison’
Mr Kennedy went on to say it is a matter of judicial knowledge cannabis farms are often manned by trafficked people for criminals gangs to protect their drug crop.
He continued: “It’s a prevalent phenomenon and people smuggling and trafficking into the UK has increased exponentially in recent years.
“Trafficking of people like Mr Beraj is central to production of cannabis in Scotland and prevailing.
“It’s a grey area between offender and victim in these cases because participants such as Mr Beraj cannot resort to authorities because they are here illegally and are intimidated and threatened from doing so.”
Mr Kennedy said escaping was not a “practical or realistic option” for his client given the rural situation of the cannabis farm, in a place he did not know.
The lawyer pointed out no money was found on his client or in his living quarters, a caravan at the site.
Mr Kennedy said: “Despite an unlocked door Mr Beraj had limited options.
“This was effectively an open prison.”
Home Office check
Mr Kennedy said Beraj – who still lives in Scotland but no longer in the Fife area – appeared in court as a first offender, with no convictions in his home country either.
The court heard Beraj was originally remanded in custody for six months following the raid and released on bail in May 2019.
He was remanded again on July 25 this year and appeared in the dock from custody for sentencing this week.
Procurator fiscal depute Laura McManus said in cases of suspected human trafficking an assessment is carried out by the relevant authorities and in this case, there was a “negative conclusive grounds” decision made in February 2020.
The Home Office says where a such a conclusion is reached, the individual will no longer be regarded as a potential victim of modern slavery.
Sheriff Susan Duff said Beraj had served a total period of almost nine months in custody – equivalent to an 18-month prison sentence.
The sheriff said: “In these circumstances you will be admonished”.
‘Identifying genuine victims is complex’
After the case, a spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “Where there are concerns that an accused person is a victim of human trafficking, those concerns will be fully explored and taken into account when deciding whether or not it is in the public interest to prosecute.
“There is a strong presumption against the prosecution of a credible trafficked victim for crimes which arise as a consequence of the accused being a victim of human trafficking.
“Identifying genuine victims of human trafficking is a complex task which must be carried out with diligence and care to ensure that those victims are not subject to unnecessary prosecution and punishment.”
