Three man have been jailed after a £1.25m cannabis factory was discovered after eagle-eyed officers noticed melted snow on their roof.
All surrounding rooftops were covered in snow following wintry conditions, but this one stood out and on closer inspection it was obvious that drugs were being grown inside due to the pungent smell.
Once inside officers discovered a grow consisting of 1,482 plants across 13 rooms of the building – which also posed a risk of fire and damage to property.
Three men were arrested at the scene in Chapel Street in Kirkby-in-Ashfield on 28 April 2021.
Aurel Koltraka, 30, Ledion Subashi, 27 and Kreshnik Batusha, 22 – all of no fixed address – pleaded guilty to production of cannabis and were jailed for 14 months each at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday (28 May 2021).
Op Reacher officers forced entry after being called to the property in January this year.
They found a man holding a torch inside and quickly detained him before discovering the sophisticated grow with fans, ducting and sheeting inside. It was also being protected by a CCTV system connected to the offenders’ mobile phones.
Police Constable Luke Bettridge led the investigation. He said: “Our suspicions were raised when we noticed that there was no snow on the large three-storey building, despite all neighbouring houses being covered.
“We were worried that there was a significant risk of fire and serious damage to the property and we quickly attended to investigate.
“We are glad to see three more men locked up for their crimes and taken out of the drug supply chain which in turn reduces the amount of drugs being taken in our communities.
“Drug offences simply won’t be tolerated in Nottinghamshire and we will do everything in our power to track down offenders and bring them to justice.
“Drugs fuel all manner of crimes and it’s often vulnerable people who get coerced into taking drugs and roped into a life of misery.
“We ask people to help us put a stop to this negative cycle by encouraging people to report any incidents to us on 101. We actively work on pieces of intelligence and information gathered from members of the public and sometimes it only takes one update to piece together enough evidence to put someone behind bars.”
