He said he was visiting Llanelli to go to the beach but police knew he was lying

A man working in a Llanelli cannabis farm told police he was only visiting the town to go to the beach, a court has heard. Despite his claim, police had already raided the cannabis factory where Mateo Allmunca was working as a gardener tending a crop worth more than £80,000. The Albanian national later came clean saying he had paid £20,000 to people smugglers to get him into the UK and that he was working off the debt he owed the gang by looking after the cannabis operation. Abu Hussain, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that on March 25 this year police executed a search warrant at a flat on Pentre Doc y Gogledd in the North Dock area of Llanelli . For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter He said when officers entered the property they were "immediately met by the smell of cannabis" and that a search found a total of 89 plants of various stages of maturity spread across three rooms along with associated growing equipment. The officers also found the flat's electricity supply had been tampered with and the meter by-passed. The court heard that Allmunca was not present during the search but neighbours were able to identify him as the man they had seen coming and going at the address. The 24-year-old defendant was located and arrested and told officers he was visiting Llanelli from Swansea in order to go to the beach. When searched he was found to be in possession of a key to the flat. In his police interview Allmunca said he had paid £20,000 to be brought into the UK from Albania and that had been in the country for around 12 months. He said he had been living in Birmingham before being taken to Llanelli, and that threats had been made against him and his family. The prosecutor said the value of the plants found at the flat had been estimated by police at up to £82,000. Mateo Allmunca, of no fixed abode, had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the production of cannabis when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. The plea was entered on the basis that he had paid £20,000 to be brought to the UK and that he was paying back the debt he owed at the rate of £3,000 a month by acting as a cannabis gardener. The defendant has no previous convictions in the UK. The prosecutor said details of any foreign convictions were not known. Matt Murphy, for Allmuna, said his client was a single man who had come to the UK to escape an "impoverished life" in Albania where he was earning as little as 200 euros per month. He said "out of desperation" his client had made the decision to move to the UK and that he had "little or no" influence on the cannabis growing operation. Recorder Mark Powell KC said the reality was Allmunca had come to the UK as an "economic migrant" and had paid £20,000 to a criminal gang to organise his travel into the country. He said it was the same gang which facilitated the defendant's entry into the UK that then put him to work growing cannabis. With a one-quarter discount for his guilty plea Allmunca was sentenced to 24 months in prison. He will serve 40 per cent of the sentence in custody before becoming eligible for released on licence. Recorder Powell told the defendant he was liable to be deported after serving his sentence. Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice .