Rition Mone denies role in £2m cannabis farm in Colchester

Rition Mone, 25, was arrested after police seized a vast haul of the Class B drug from a vacant property in Hythe Station Road, Colchester.

Officers spent hours at the warehouse removing thousands of plants following the discovery in April.

Mone, of Hythe Station Road, Colchester, was charged with producing cannabis and appeared at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday via videolink from prison.

Speaking through an interpreter, he denied the charge and is next set to appear in court on September 27.

Mone’s barrister Barry Gilbert suggested his client had been trafficked and exploited.

He said: “A reasonable reading of the papers in this case rather suggests this may be a genuine case of trafficking.”

Recorder Jeremy Benson QC warned Mone against failing to properly prepare his defence.

He said: “If you fail to provide a defence statement or if it is not sufficiently detailed, it can count against you.

“At the trial you will have the right to give evidence.

“If you fail to attend the trial when required, either from custody or bail, that may be a separate offence.

“If you fail to attend the trial, the trial can proceed in your absence.”

Mone was remanded in custody until the next hearing.

Police had become aware of the warehouse filled with cannabis after reports were made to them of the strong smell.

Shortly after the police raid, Amy Swaine, 29, who works in a neighbouring warehouse, said: “The police came in and were asking if we had smelled cannabis.

“The building had been abandoned for a long time.”

She added: “Nobody saw this coming, we didn’t have any inkling of this or the scale of it.

“Our guys are in and out all the time and didn’t notice anything.”

Another neighbour reported seeing officers venture on to the roof of the building as part of the investigation.

“The building has been disused since before lockdown,” she said.