'Doubts' over whether £27,000 Wakefield house cannabis farm belonged to occupant

Polish national Michal Judzicki was arrested when police raided the property on Spring Terrace in South Elmsall on February 3 following a tip-off. Before they had chance to break down the door, the 23-year-old let the officers inside where they found a total of 40 plants.

They found 19 plants in one room, 11 in another and 10 in the loft, all with associated fans and ventilation equipment. The electricity had also been bypassed.

Judzicki told offers he had rented the property for two months and took full responsibility. He refused to answer any further questions or provide a password to his phone to allow officers to investigate further.

With the yield value estimated at more than £27,000, prosecutor Stephen Littlewood told Leeds Crown Court that regardless of his role, Judzicki “must have expected a significant financial advantage from that grow”.

He admitted production of cannabis and abstracting electricity.

Mitigating, Ryan Donoghue said Judzicki had come to the UK in 2019 and worked as a warehouse operative. He said he wants to continue living and working in the UK, has no previous convictions and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

The judge, Recorder Thomas Moran gave him a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, and 150 hours of unpaid work.

He said: “You said you were solely responsible, I very much doubt that is true. I suspect you were working for somebody else.”