THE mastermind of a £10,000 cannabis farm, who was caught because of the snow, has been ordered to pay back some of his ill-gotten gains

Eagle-eyed police officers out on patrol in Whitefield in January this year noticed that there was snow on the rooftops of every house in Stanley Road, except one.

They decided to investigate and detected a strange smell coming from the property.

It turned out that there was no snow because the heat in the house was turned up unusually high, so that cannabis plants could grow inside.

PC Richard Garland, of Whitefield police obtained a court warrant and, on January 23, officers raided the house.

They found sophisticated plant-growing equipment and 43 plants with a street value of £10,750.

Bogdan Wlazniak, aged 35, of Windsor Avenue, Whitefield, was subsequently arrested and interviewed by officers.

He was charged with two counts of production and the theft of electricity worth £3,072.

Both offences took place between October 1, 2014 and January 23, this year.

Wlazniak admitted the charges and, at a sentencing hearing at Bolton Crown Court on September 7, was handed a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to do 240 hours of unpaid work and to pay a £100 victim surcharge.

At a further hearing on November 10, he was ordered to forfeit £2,300 before February 10 or face two months in prison under the terms of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).

After the POCA hearing, PC Garland said: "I am pleased that this case has drawn to a close.

"These were some of the biggest pot plants I have seen and it is good that we were able to locate them before they made it to the streets."