Cannabis continues to blight our streets. Not only is the pungent smell of the class B drug prevalent to many who walk through the streets, but gangs remain setting up sophisticated grows in houses they rent and then turn over to cultivating it.
Often, foreign nationals are brought to the UK to tend them, many because they have fallen into debt in their home countries and they have been threatened if they refuse to do so. Here, Courts and Legal Affairs Reporter Martin Naylor highlights just some of the cases he has covered during 2024 in our courts.
Whitemoss Close, Wollaton
Police found a cannabis grow worth upwards of £100,000 when they raided a rented house in Whitemoss Close, Wollaton. Almost the entire property had been turned over to producing the class B drug with the electricity also being by-passed and a sophisticated lighting and extraction unit had been put in place.
Also inside the property was illegal immigrant Nam Tran who had agreed to become involved as a gardener having fallen into debt with a loan shark in his home country. Now the 21-year-old’s dream of living a law-abiding life in the UK and wanting to claim asylum are in the hands of the authorities.
Jailing him for 16 months, Judge James Sampson said: “You entered this country illegally and you took to work as a gardener growing cannabis. This was a commercial grow capable of yielding over £100,000 of cannabis. There [were] 196 plants and there was cannabis on bags indicating a previous grow. There were scales, there was a burner phone, the electricity had been bypassed and there was lighting.
“There were fans, there was extraction equipment and you clearly knew the scale of this operation. It was sophisticated and you had keys to the premises which showed you could come and go as you wished so you must have been trusted.
“There was a well-stocked fridge and your activity would require some skill. I have no idea if what you have told the probation service is true or not about your background but I put that to one side. You say you want to claim asylum and live in this country. In my view you should be deported, but that is beyond my powers.”
Nottinghamshire Police executed a warrant at the address, at around 8.50am on July 23 after receiving information that a house there was being used to grow the class B drug. On entering the premises five of the rooms had been converted.
Tran, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to production of cannabis and has no previous convictions. A decision on whether or not to deport Tran after he is released partway through his sentence is down to the Home Office.
(Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Rushcliffe Avenue, Sherwood
A video had shown the moment police cut their way into a house in Rushcliffe Avenue, Sherwood, and found a cannabis gardener hiding in the loft. The clip first shows police using equipment to shear away the front door to gain entry to the property. Once successful, they then enter shouting “police, police” before going upstairs and discovering the grow of 121 plants inside it.
The video then shows them climb a ladder into the loft where they found 29-year-old Arnold Elezi before bringing him down, handcuffing and arresting him. Inspector Paul Ferguson, neighbourhood inspector for the city north area, said: “People may think the cultivation of cannabis is a victimless crime, but what they don’t realise is those at the top of the criminal chain make very large sums of money from producing and distributing the drug, while often exploiting vulnerable people at the same time.”
The raid happened at around 9am on September 19 after officers received information the property was being used to grow large amounts of cannabis. One of the bedrooms was found to contain 121 plants, while other areas of the house had been converted into cannabis growing areas.
Elezi was found trying to hide in the loft and was arrested. All the cannabis was removed, while the growing equipment was also seized and put out of use. Elezi, of no fixed address, went on to plead guilty to cultivating cannabis and he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on Friday, October 11, and was handed a two-year prison sentence.
Arnold Elezi has been jailed.
(Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Lyndhurst Road, Sneinton
Michael Croly had set aside a room at the ‘unkempt and unsafe’ house he was renting to produce thousands of pounds of the drug. The Sneinton property also had the electricity by-passed and growing equipment was found inside the bedroom.
The married 29-year-old, who has never been in trouble before, also had a knife inside the address which a judge said is typical for people who use weapons to protect their enterprise. But he was given an opportunity to avoid prison, having stayed out of trouble for almost two years since police carried out a raid and made the discovery.
Handing him a 12-month prison term, suspended for two years, Judge Michael Auty KC said: “Michael Croly, you are an idiot to have done this, you really are. Because you have put your liberty at risk and the welfare of your wife who depends on you.
“These courts get sick to the back teeth of the number of cannabis grows appearing in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Cannabis does not deserve its reputation on the streets as a harmless drug.
“It can have three consequences. One, it is carcinogenic, which means it causes cancer. Two, it can affect, and frequently does, people’s mental health. And three, it very often leads users to experiment with other drugs.
“This is your first offence, let it be the last. Everyone is entitled to a chance. This is yours.” Police carried out a warrant at Croly’s privately-rented home in Lyndhurst Road, Sneinton, on September 21, 2022, and the defendant pleaded guilty to production of cannabis and illegally abstracting electricity.
Michael Croly leaving Nottingham Crown Court
(Image: Nottinghamshire Live)
Leslie Road, Forest Fields
Police called to a domestic incident at a Nottingham house uncovered a cannabis grow that could have yielded tens of thousands of pounds for its grower. Officers also found 1.7 litres of liquid cannabis which an expert concluded could also have been worth in excess of £100,000 when they went to the Forest Fields home of 35-year-old Luke Roberts.
A CS gas canister belonging to his partner, Jade Rigby, 31, was also recovered from the property which she later said she had for protection from a violent ex-boyfriend. And both cried in the dock as Roberts was sent to prison and she was spared immediate custody, with Roberts asking the judge “can we have a cuddle?” before he was sent down.
Jailing him for a year and handing Rigby a 12-month community order, Judge Nigel Godsmark KC said: “Both if you are here, ironically, because you fell out together, had an argument, the police came and that led to the discovery which has brought you here. It was 47 plants which is quite a substantial quantity.
“I accept that you (Roberts) are trying to put your past behind you but the production of 47 cannabis plants and its potential yield is not something that can be overlooked. You, Miss Rigby, are in an entirely different position.
“I accept you obtained (the CS gas canister) out of fear and I accept you did not go out to use it.” Police were called to Roberts’ address in Leslie Road on March 21, 2022, following reports of a domestic incident between the couple.
She said when they arrived a search found the cannabis plants were growing in two separate bedrooms. She pleaded guilty to possession of the canister and, as part of her community order, the judge ordered Rigby, of Wycliffe Street, Forest Fields, to attend 12 rehabilitation sessions with the probation service.
Roberts, of Leslie Avenue, also in Forest Fields, pleaded guilty to production of cannabis and possession of cannabis. He has 18 previous convictions for 25 offences.
(Image: BPM MEDIA)
Premier Road, Forest Fields
Illegal immigrant Eddison Kasa was caught tending to a cannabis grow in Nottingham which could have netted his bosses tens of thousands of pounds. The 24-year-old Albanian was trying to run out of the back door when officers raided the Forest Fields address where he was living.
The defendant immediately admitted officers would find the class B drug growing around the property and 268 plants in total were discovered in five separate growing areas. And the warrant was part of a Nottinghamshire Police operation which saw four properties raided and a potential £1m of weed taken off the streets.
Jailing Kasa for 15 months Judge Michael Auty KC said: “Nottinghamshire, as well as other areas of the country, is plagued with cannabis grows at the moment. It is a very lucrative business with vast sums of money raised and immense suffering caused to innocent people.”
Officers carried out the warrant on the property in Premier Road, just before 11am on September 4 and arrested the defendant. He was interviewed and told officers he was looking after the plants explaining he was paying off a debt of £85,000 his father had accrued in Albania. Kasa, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to production of cannabis and has no previous convictions in the UK.
The raid was one of four police in Nottingham carried out between July and September acting on information the public passed on to them. The others were in Stanley Road, Forest Fields; Sturton Street, New Basford; and Gawthrone Street, also in New Basford.
A total of 1,124 plants were seized worth what detectives said was worth “around £1m”. Judge Auty said when the defendant is released halfway through his sentence he will “most likely be deported back to Albania”.
Nottingham Crown Court
(Image: Nottinghamshire Live)
Mansfield drone gang
Members of a gang which used heat-seeking drones to identify houses in Nottinghamshire where there were cannabis grows and stole more than £250,000 of the plants. Following a two-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court, a jury found Dichrije Elliel and Andrew Thomas guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery.
The pair – Elliel 24, of Tanners Mews, Deptford, London, and Thomas, 25, of Campbell Square, Northampton – had denied the charge. But having heard all of the evidence, the jury convicted them.
Now they and four other men – Addil Elmi, 24, of Buchan Road, Nunhead, London; Golam Yackobi, 19, of Brambles Farm Drive, Uxbridge; Donnell Quarry, 24, of Langston Hughes Close, Lambeth, London; and Khalid Omar, 23, of Montague Road, Uxbridge – who have all already pleaded guilty to the same charge will be sentenced in the new year.
The trial heard how the group employed “scouts” to find premises where the illegal enterprises had been set up and who sent footage back to the leaders in London who “assembled a team” to burst into the properties and steal from them.
But a neighbour alerted police that one such home in Birding Street, Mansfield, was being broken into in the early hours of the morning and officers caught a number of men.
The prosecutor said the Vietnamese gardener found in the Mansfield property was also arrested, charged, and served a prison sentence. He gave evidence during the trial. The gang will be sentenced in the new year.
(Image: Nottinghamshire Live)
Hillside Road, Radcliffe-on-Trent
A 43-year-old cannabis farmer caught tending to more than 450 plants at a house in Radcliffe-on-Trent, was jailed for 16 months. Police raided the Radcliffe-on-Trent property following information from members of the public and discovered the large grow which was potentially worth tens of thousands of pounds to those who set it up.
Inside the address was Vietnamese national Vu Dong who was arrested, questioned and charged. Sending him to prison, Judge James Sampson said: “You have nothing we know of in terms of any criminal record and I have to take into regard the sentencing guidelines.
“You entered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and I also take into account your lack of previous convictions. You will serve half of the 16 months before being released subject to any involvement by the Border Agency.”
Dawn Pritchard, prosecuting, said “Officers executed a warrant at the property in Hillside Road on Monday, July 8, at around 12.40pm. The defendant was detained close to the property and the policing team discovered 452 cannabis plants inside the house.”
Dong, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the production of cannabis.
He has been jailed for 16 months
(Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Mardling Avenue, Bestwood
A gardener tending to a cannabis grow worth upwards of £170,000 was caught covered in cropped leaves and wearing gloves when police forced their way into a Nottingham house. Renato Kutrici had not long been released from prison for the exact same offence in Coventry when he was snared in Bestwood.
The 39-year-old’s defence barrister, Laura Pitman, told the hearing her client became involved in the illegal enterprise through an Albanian gang who his family owed money to.
And she said now he is “just desperate to go home” to his wife and three children when he is likely to be deported by the Home Office midway through his 10-month sentence.
Jailing Kutrici, Recorder Anna Trussler said: “This was a professionally set-up system, a proper operation with the electricity being by-passed which is clearly a serious hazard. I have heard what has been said about your role in this and I accept you were acting as a gardener.
“But given your previous conviction for the same offence, you must have been aware of the scale of the operation. I have heard about the background as to how you came to the UK and I have some sympathy for the mess you and your family found yourselves in.”
Police executed a warrant at the address in Mardling Avenue, at around 8.30am on April 11, this year. Kutrici, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to production of cannabis.
His previous conviction for the same offence saw him jailed for six months when he appeared at Warwick Crown Court in August, last year.
(Image: Nottinghamshire Live)
Bagshaw Street, Pleasley
Brothers Eset and Shahin Gjoni climbed on the roof of a house containing £167,000 of cannabis in a bid to escape from the police. The pair then refused to come down until the fire brigade were called and provided a ladder to rescue the stranded pair.
The two defendants, both illegal immigrants from Albania, had arrived in the UK, one in the back of a lorry and the other in dinghy over the English Channel. Now they are spending time behind bars before most likely being deported back to their home country.
Jailing each of them for eight months, Recorder James Bide-Thomas said: “The two of you escaped through a hole in the roof and refused to come down until the fire brigade were called and provided a ladder to assist you. The premises were searched and a professional grow was found.
“There were 152 plants and 3kg of cropped cannabis which had a total value of £52,000 at wholesale and £167,000 retail. Eset, you had been there longer than your brother and Shahin, you were responsible for the lighting and then were later shown how to cultivate the cannabis.
“The mastermind of this operation was someone called Alfonso and I accept you did not set it up and that it was not your operation.” Police executed a warrant at an address in Bagshaw Street, Pleasley, Mansfield, at around 12.30pm on December 16 and both brothers, who were assisted this week by an interpreter, pleaded guilty to production of a class B drug and have no previous conviction either in the UK or Albania.
Eset Gjoni (left) and Shahin Gjoni
(Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Manor Avenue, Stapleford
A large cannabis farm with more than 80 plants was uncovered by detectives and crews tackling a house fire in Stapleford. Two homes and electrical cables were found alight in Manor Avenue on Monday, November 25.
But on a closer inspection dozens of cannabis plants were found within one of the properties. Police say the fire is believed to be linked to “dangerous alterations made to the electrical system”, and officers warned neighbours to report their suspicions going forward.
The fire was brought under control and nobody was injured. The plants were found spread across multiple rooms of the property, and they were removed with all of the associated growing equipment put beyond use.
Sergeant Simon Boyles, of Nottinghamshire Police, issued a stark warning and encouraged anyone with information to come forward. He said: “Cannabis grows of this nature pose a significant fire risk for various reasons – none more so than the illegal modifications that are routinely made in order to bypass electricity metres.
“The required lighting and heating equipment, meanwhile, generates a large amount of heat in an environment often piled high with fertilisers and other chemicals. That’s why it’s so important for neighbours to report their suspicions to us at an early stage, because fires like this could very quickly spread to adjoining properties.”
Nobody has been arrested yet in connection with the investigation. Anyone with additional information about the Stapleford grow is asked to call the force on 101, quoting incident 626 of November 25, 2024. Crimestoppers can also be called anonymously on 0800 555 111.