Man who turned flat into Oldham cannabis farm to be deported

Kamil Szymanski will return to his native Poland after serving a prison sentence <i>(Image: GMP)</i>
Kamil Szymanski will return to his native Poland after serving a prison sentence (Image: GMP)
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A man will be deported from the UK after serving a prison sentence following a police raid at a cannabis farm at an Oldham property.

Kamil Szymanski appeared at Minshull Street Crown Court on Thursday (June 25) having previously pleaded guilty to producing cannabis and abstraction of electricity.

The court heard that on January 5 this year, police attended a property on Fir Tree Avenue, Fitton Hill, following reports of potential criminal activity.

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Inside the property, which Szymanski, 39, was renting, it was found that all three bedrooms were being used for the production of cannabis.

More than 100 plants were discovered at the premises before an electricity operator confirmed the electricty had been bypassed.

In a police interview, Szymanski admitted to the electricity bypass and claimed the cannabis was for himself, denying that he was trying to sell it.

Szymanski had no previous convictions in the UK, the court heard, but he was convicted of tax evasion in his native Poland.

The court also heard that Szymanski has signed deportation papers and will return to his homeland when his sentence ends.

Recorder Gavin McBride said Szymanski had to come to the UK to work but had "blighted that" with his "cannabis use and involvement in production".

Szymanski was sentenced to 16 months in prison before he is deported, while the cannabis was ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.

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