A landlord who tried to smuggle illegal immigrants into this country to work at cannabis factories at properties he owned has been jailed for eight years.

James Gordon, 66, of Great Hatfield, near Hornsea, was convicted last year of facilitating unlawful immigration and has also been convicted of producing cannabis. He was previously stopped while driving a bus in France and 10 illegal Albanian immigrants were found hiding inside, Metro reports.

Police found three separate cannabis factories at premises owned by Gordon, with a total estimated wholesale cannabis value of more than £500,000. Gordon claimed that he did not know about the cannabis that was being grown – and that he never even noticed the smell of the drug.

The case dates back to January 2020 when police searched two flats owned by Gordon in Anlaby Road, Hull, and his home address in Great Hatfield. They found hundreds of plants, along with 50 heat lamps and transformers.

Chance

Police discovered the first sophisticated set-up for a cannabis factory only by chance after finding paperwork with Gordon’s name on it while investigating a serious fire involving multiple vehicles at a property in a quiet rural village.

Humber Police said at the time: “In an attempt to evade and deceive officers, Gordon admitted that, as a landlord, he conducted checks on the Anlaby Road properties every three to six months, stating that the electrics had been tampered with on every occasion that there had been a cannabis farm discovered. He maintained that he did not know about the farms as it was not his permanent residence.”

Tenant

Gordon said that he had a tenant and that he had an agent, who rented out the properties on his behalf. He claimed that he visited the property every three to six months, and he never smelled cannabis. Other evidence found on his phone indicated that Gordon was involved in illegal immigration, with around £12,000 in payments made to his bank accounts.

Judge Tahir Khan KC told Gordon that he was satisfied that the object of the exercise in the immigration offence was for the Albanian men to be “put to work growing cannabis on your behalf” once they were in this country.

Photo: Google

‍