Illegal immigrant behind £6M cannabis farm in abandoned WH Smith in Scots town jailed

Scottish Sun

6 hours ago

AN ILLEGAL immigrant caught working in a £6million cannabis factory located in a former WH Smith shop has been jailed for three years and three months.
Petrit Gjuraj, 24, paid £20,000 to come from Albania to work in a large-scale drugs cultivation plant in an ex retail outlet in High Street, Kirkcaldy, Fife.
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Petrit Gjuraj worked at a £6million cannabis factory in Kirkcaldy, Fife
Credit: Alamy
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The cultivation was in a former WH Smith store on the town's High Street
Credit: YouTube/Shepherd Chartered Surveyors
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Gjuraj has been imprisoned for three years and three months
Credit: Shepherd Chartered Surveyors
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how he was arrested after police raided the premises in 2022.
The court heard how officers who searched the three-storey building found a total of 1,330 cannabis plants, which were being grown on every floor.
Workers slept in a small area which consisted of three double mattresses.
The court also heard detectives also found a large TV which showed live CCTV footage from a camera located at the back of the premises which focused on the back door.
Drugs squad officers found the cannabis being grown there could have netted the organised crime group responsible for the plant a total of £6,596,800.
The story emerged after the accused pleaded guilty to earlier this year to being concerned in cultivating cannabis between March and May 2022 before judge Lord Scott.
Today, Gjuraj, of Paisley, Renfrewshire, appeared before Lord Scott for sentencing, who said that the offence was so serious that he needed to go to prison.
Passing sentence, Lord Scott said: 'This was a sophisticated operation. You were involved for a period of two months.
'You deny playing a leading role. But the extent of the operation must have been apparent to you - you were locked inside with the drugs.
'It is clear that in all the circumstances that a custodial sentence is the only appropriate disposal.'
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At a hearing last month, Lord Scott heard about the moment police arrested Gjuraj, an Albanian national.
Prosecutor Alan Cameron KC said: 'Police Scotland received intelligence that cannabis was being cultivated within the three storey, disused premises at 183-187 High Street, Kirkcaldy.
'Police cars arrived at the front and rear of the premises to search them. Police cars arrived at the front and rear of the premises.
'The accused and three other males were seen from the police helicopter exiting onto the roof of the building via a fire escape and running west along the roof of he adjacent building via a fire escape and running west along the roof the adjacent building.
'It became apparent to officers that the males had no means of escape. After the males made a few attempts to conceal themselves, they were observed to be engaging with the officers and a ladder was requested.
'The males descended the ladder in turn nd were detained by the officers on the street.'
According to Google Maps, the premises raided by police used to be occupied by a branch of WH Smith.
A branch of clothing giants New Look was once located close by as was a branch of Waterstones.
Mr Cameron told the court that the accused told police that he had paid a person in Albania £20,000 to come to the UK.
Mr Cameron added: 'The arrangement was that should he not carry out the work then his family in Albania would have to sell their property to repay the debt.
'He made his own way to Belgium and then hid in a lorry and by hiding in the lorry was able to enter the UK.
'He worked in London before moving to Scotland, where he worked for two months in the building where he was subsequently found by the police.
'He is an Albanian national who has no legal entitlement to be in the UK. The usual national referral mechanism checks were made with the Home Office and it was determined he had not ben trafficked.'
The court heard that the premises raided by the police were set up for 'maximum cannabis cultivation' - officers reckon the OCG spent £70,000 on cultivation.
Detectives recovered 392 cannabis plants from the ground floor, 740 plants from the first floor and 146 plants from the top floor.
Mr Cameron added: 'If the cannabis cultivated was sold in one eighth deals that would amount to approximately 164,920 deals at £40 per deal. This would have yielded approximately £6,596,800.
'STOP officers offer the opinion the accused was trusted by an organised crime group which had invested in the production of the cannabis and would have yielded significant sums from its onward sales.'
On Thursday, defence solicitor advocate Donna Maitland told the court that her client slept on a mattress in a "locked factory".
She said: "He didn't have any keys and was not able to leave. He was terrified of getting into trouble from the gang."
"There were regular threats to kill him and his family if he did not do what he was told. He tells me this has been his first involvement in the legal system."
"He was exploited and had no influence on those above him in the chain," she said.
Ms Maitland also said his position was that he was trafficked to the UK to work off a debt.
A debt of almost pounds 20,000 was amassed through medical bills for his mother.
She said: "It is clear he is remorseful and is very anti drugs.'
Gjuraj was then taken into custody.