A failed asylum seeker is set to be deported after a £65,000 drugs raid in East Kilbride.
Seventy plants were found in a sophisticated cultivation at a three-bedroom home in Calderside Grove.
Police also recovered more than 11 kilos of herbal cannabis.
Kongres Cuti, 32, who is from Albania, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court in January.
He admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis on September 17 last year.
However, there was a lengthy delay before he could be sentenced.
Initially the case was continued for a criminal justice social work report and then delayed further because of a dispute over the herbal cannabis value.
Kuti’s solicitor claimed much of the herbal material seized was “almost worthless”.
But after negotiations with the Crown, the defence has now conceded its value was £37,000.
Both sides agreed the plants seized would be worth up to £28,000.
Jennifer McLaren, prosecuting, said neighbours were suspicious about a smell coming from the house and the sound of fans.
She told the court: “When police officers arrived they noted an incredibly strong smell of cannabis.
“They found the entire house had been converted for the purpose of growing cannabis.
“There were 36 cannabis plants in the living room, 21 in an upstairs bedroom and 13 nursery plants in the loft space.
“Another bedroom was being used as a drying area for herbal material.
“Two bags of herbal cannabis weighing 11.4 kilos were recovered.”
Cuti was detained when he arrived at the house at 4pm that day. He was on his phone and “acting suspiciously”.
Officers seized £750 in mixed notes from him.
Defence agent David Kinloch said his client had had nothing to do with the cultivation but had been sent to the house by his bosses to observe the police operation and report back.
Mr Kinloch explained: “It’s his position that he was never in the house in question though he had been told what was inside.”
Cuti was jailed for 18 months, but the sentence was backdated to September 20 as he had been in custody since his arrest.
Given early release rules, the sentence has now been served, but Mr Kinloch said his client faces deportation from the UK as a result of the conviction.
