Man's yellow hoodie contained a small clue to his crime

ROKAS NORBUTAS APPARENTLY CAME TO THE UK IN ORDER TO HAND OUT FLYERS BUT WAS ARRESTED WITHIN WEEKS 18:00, 21 May 2025 A man boarded a plane "with good intentions" but was arrested

within weeks. Rokas Norbutas apparently came to the UK from his native Lithuania in order to hand out flyers, but was instead put to work in a cannabis farm. Police then caught him

red-handed inside the house which had been transformed into a "commercial scale" production line. His clothing also gave away a big clue as to his crime. Liverpool Crown Court

heard this afternoon, Wednesday, that Merseyside Police executed a search warrant at an address on Stoneycroft Crescent in Old Swan at around 12.30pm on April 8 this year. Norbutas was

discovered inside a bedroom on the first floor of the property, four rooms of which had been given over to a "commercial scale cannabis production". Louise Santamera, prosecuting,

described how this consisted of a total of 199 plants "in various stages of growth" and assisted by the use of lighting rigs, ventilation and "filtration equipment". This

was assessed as having a potential yield of between 5.5kg and 16.7kg the class B drug. Officers also found that the electricity supply had been bypassed in order to provide power for the

operation and seized three mobile phones. Investigations subsequently revealed that Norbutas had entered the country on a flight from Riga in Latvia to Birmingham Airport on January 18 2025,

having been granted leave to remain as a visitor for six months. The 22-year-old, who has no previous convictions in this jurisdiction, made no reply to PCs following his arrest, and

thereafter remained silent under interview. He was however shown wearing a yellow hoodie featuring an image of a cannabis leaf in his custody picture. James Lefroy, defending, told the

court: "Mr Norbutas arrived in the country on the 18th of January this year. Hopefully, it is fair to say that this operation pre-existed his arrival in the United Kingdom. "His

position was that, in Lithuania, he struggled to find work. He had heard stories of friends and acquaintances being able to find work in the UK, and travelled to the UK with good intentions.

"He had pre arranged work distributing flyers over the internet prior to his arrival. He undertook that work for approximately eight weeks. However, it because unviable because almost

all of the money he was earning was going towards accommodation costs imposed by his employers. "Your honour will see what he says took place from that point forward. He performed a

limited function under direction and had limited, if any, financial advantage. He was clearly, to a degree, exploited by way of his circumstances." Norbutas, who was assisted by an

interpreter during the hearing, admitted production of cannabis and abstracting electricity without authority. Appearing via video link wearing a grey prison issue jumper, he was jailed for

a year. Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: "When the police attended the property, they found that you were living in there. Four rooms of the house had been converted to produce

cannabis. There were nearly 200 plants at different stages of cultivation. Those plants alone could have resulted in a yield of between six and 16 kilograms and cannabis. "I accepted

that you were hired by somebody to look after and water the plants. For that, you were allowed to live in the property and you were supported to live in this country by other criminals

giving you money. Article continues below "The production of cannabis on this commercial level is a serious offence. When you have served the custodial period of this sentence, it is

likely that you will be removed by the authorities back to Lithuania."