A marketing manager allowed his cousin to build a secret room in the mill he rented and use it for growing cannabis.
The hidden factory was found behind a breeze block wall, disguised as a cabinet, in Albert Mill, Lower Darwen.
Father-of-five Marc Ramsden, 39, has been ordered to carry out unpaid work after he admitted allowing the unit he rented to be used for the production of cannabis.
Recorder Richard Gioserano said the room was “the kind of thing we see all the time, but those who build them think they are being clever.”
The factory was discovered when the landlord of the premises noticed the electricity bill had gone from £750 a month to more than £3,000 a month in October 2017.
When he went to inspect the property he found a partition wall had been built and became very concerned about what was going on.
He called the police who obtained an emergency misuse of drugs warrant to search the mill.
Upon entry they were struck by the strong smell of cannabis and the whirring of fans, Bob Elias, prosecuting, told Preston Crown Court.
Officers forced entry to the secret room, through a metal door at the back of a cabinet.
They found 50 well established plants growing in a sophisticated hydroponic set up.
The plants had an estimated yield of 2.5kg and a street value of around £30,000.
A further 10 saplings were found in the back of a van – which was insured to the tenant Marc Ramsden.
But Ramsden, of Anglia Road, Bolton, said he was unaware that the unit he rented was being used for the production of cannabis.
He claimed he had allowed his cousin to use the unit – which he had rented for the buying and selling of cars in his spare time.
He later pleaded guilty to allowing premises to be used for the production of cannabis and appeared at Preston Crown Court to be sentenced.
Recorder Gionserano, sentencing, said: “I am not sentencing you for the offence of actually producing cannabis. If I was sentencing you for that you would be going to prison.
https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/cannabis-farm-hidden-behind-trick-21997236
