![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/5077854.jpg?r=1700845432758\")
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At first, Edward [not his real name] was lied to about what his son planned to do in Britain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will work maybe in a restaurant because I can speak English,\u201d he told his father, \u201cand then we\u2019ll see what can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a big decision. His son was quitting his university degree in Albania with just one year of his economics course remaining.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son never talked about such things. It was not his intention. But just one day suddenly he said that he wanted to go,\u201d the father explained.<\/p>\n
Having travelled to France the young man then revealed the truth; he was crossing the Channel on a small boat to work in an English cannabis farm.<\/p>\n
READ MORE <\/strong> \u2018I smuggle 6,000 migrants a year into UK on small boats – business is booming’<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt was too late when I found out and it was like an earthquake for me,\u201d Edward said bowing his head, a tear running down his cheek.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me he needs the job to make money,\u201d Edward added. \u201cHe told me if you finish university here it’s not a big deal because you will only work as a waiter.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Albania if you want to find a [good] job, you will need connections or you need to put some money in to get the position. This is how things work because of our corrupted government.\u201d<\/p>\n Knowing how difficult it could be didn\u2019t make it any easier for him to handle his son\u2019s choice, however.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m scared every time I hear a story from London, my mind is all over the place,\u201d he continued. \u201cI’ve heard some stories from the village where I was born.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the people were working in this kind of [drug] farm and suddenly one night some people tried to get in. It was a disaster, they were killing them and doing bad things.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve also heard how when the police raid the houses, the workers have to get out and sometimes they sleep on the streets. That’s why I always told my son it’s not for him, but he keeps replying that I just need some time to make some money.\u201d<\/p>\n Edward calls his son every day as the young man tends to a large crop of cannabis plants. But the conversations are never easy.<\/p>\n \u201cHe tells me he can’t speak a lot with me on the phone because he doesn’t want to be heard by the neighbours. He wants to be silent because of his work,\u201d Edward said.<\/p>\n Like most of the cannabis farm workers, the young man arrived in the UK by boat. The trip put him in debt to the smugglers although his father said it had now been covered.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> ![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/5077861.jpg?r=1700845432805\")
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