Trio jailed over cannabis farm ordered to pay back just £1 each
THREE men jailed for running a large-scale cannabis farm inside a disused school in Llandysul have been ordered to pay back just £1 each, after being found to have no assets available for confiscation.
Armeld Troksi, Njazi Gjana and Ervin Gjana were caught when Dyfed-Powys Police raided the former primary school on Heol Y Fran in November 2024. Officers discovered 819 cannabis plants being cultivated across three floors in what was described as a 'highly sophisticated' grow operation. The drugs seized were estimated to have a street value of up to £620,000.
At the scene, Troksi was found hiding in a toilet with dried cannabis stuck to him. Njazi Gjana told officers: 'This is the first time I've ever done anything like this,' while 25-year-old Ervin Gjana tried to flee over a fence but was tracked down by a drone and arrested on a nearby road.
All three men pleaded guilty to producing cannabis. Troksi, 29, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison. The Gjana cousins, both of Empire Avenue in Edmonton, London, received two-and-a-half years each. At sentencing, the court heard they were in the UK illegally.
Gjana claimed he had been promised £6,000 to harvest cannabis but had not been paid. He said he had arrived in the UK ten years ago in a lorry from France and had been working in the construction trade. Troksi said he had been pressured into working on the farm to repay a debt and was 'genuinely scared.'
The three men returned to Swansea Crown Court on May 19 for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, where Judge Huw Rees initially adjourned the case so the defendants—who were unrepresented—could seek legal advice. 'I hope they realise that I'm doing this in fairness to them,' he told the court.
When the matter returned on May 23, it was agreed the men had jointly benefited from their criminal activity to the sum of £458,500. However, as they had no assets to seize, Judge Paul Thomas KC imposed nominal confiscation orders of £1 each.
'You will serve up to half of your sentence,' Judge Thomas said during sentencing. 'What happens thereafter is a matter for the immigration authorities.'
Pictured above:
Cannabis factory: 819 plants were found inside the former school building in Llandysul (Pic: Dyfed-Powys Police).
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