An undocumented migrant tended a cannabis farm worth £72,000 in exchange for free rent in Leeds.
Banush Jolla was arrested after officers found 167 cannabis plants growing across three floors of a house on Bellbrooke Avenue in Harehills.
The officers had been called to an unrelated matter at 4.30am on September 8 this year.
Philip Adams, prosecuting, said the officers knocked on the back door of the house after noticing a strong smell of cannabis.
Jolla answered the door and the officers found plants growing in five rooms of the property.
Fifty plants were in the cellar, 69 plants were in two bedrooms on the first floor and 48 plants were in two attic bedrooms.
Leeds Crown Court heard 137 of the plants were over four feet in height.
Mr Adams said: "This was a sophisticated set up.
"The plants were growing under strong lights.
"The wall had reflective coverings, there was sheeting at the windows, a ventilation system, carbon filters and the electricity meter had been bypassed."
The prosecutor said the plants were capable of producing cannabis with a street value of £72,000.
Jolla, an Albanian national, was arrested and told police in his interview that he had been living in the UK for a month-and-a-half.
He said he had moved to Leeds from London two weeks prior as he had struggled to find somewhere to live.
The 22-year-old said he had been told he could stay at the property on Bellbrooke Avenue rent-free as long as he helped to water and look after the plants.
Jolla pleaded guilty to being concerned in the production of cannabis.
Rukhshanda Hussain, mitigating, said Jolla faces being deported when he is released from custody, adding: "He was exploited because he was here illegally."
Jolla was jailed for a year.
Sentencing, Judge Robin Mairs told the defendant he was motivated by financial advantage.
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