Men sentenced after supplying £100k worth of drugs

The cannabis farms were found on Monday, May 15, 2023, at an industrial unit at the Eanam Industrial Park in Blackburn.

Cannabis farms were also found at an address on Glenfield Street in Nelson, of which the defendants were charged for both.

The court heard that 79 cannabis plants were found at Glenfield Street, 142 cannabis plants were found at Eanam Industrial Park, and another 65 cannabis plants were found at a different address in Nelson.

Lech Sulic, 25, of Mornington Road, Rochdale, Deividas Zitinevicius, 19, of Hogarth Road, Rochdale, Arnold Verzinski, 29, of Ashfield Road, Rochdale, and Dariusz Chmiel, 43, of Mornington Road, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cultivate cannabis, a Class B drug.

All four men, who needed a Lithuanian or Polish interpreter, attended Preston Crown Court to hear their sentencing.

Addressing Sulic, Judge Ian Unsworth KC told the court that he played a significant role in the operation and that his mobile phone that was recovered by the police had found 140 images and 25 videos of cannabis and equipment showing the drugs.

As Zitinevicius is aged 19, the court heard that he would be given mitigation as a young person in a Crown Court.

Judge Ian Unsworth KC said: "It is clear you were recruited by one of the elders in order to look after and manage the growth, but you still played an important role in this operation."

Addressing Chmiel, the judge noted that he was an older man but also had a significant role in the operation.

Sentencing the defendants, Judge Ian Unsworth KC told the court that although they will be eligible to be released on bail after half of their sentences, it is up to the Home Office to decide their status on serving the rest of their time in the UK.

Verzinski and Chmiel were both sentenced to three years, Sulic received two years and nine months and Zitinevicius was handed two years.

They have also been told to pay a statutory surcharge of £15,951.24.