A drug gang have been jailed over an estimated £3 million a year cannabis growing operation after police found a ten-bed house filled with 5,000 plants with a £500,000 street value. Four men were arrested at the grow site on suspicion of the cultivation of cannabis and concerned in the supply of cannabis in November last year.
The fifth man was located and stopped on his way back to London shortly after. Zurafet Lika, 26 and Sajmir Mata, 41 from Exeter, were both found guilty this week of the cultivation of cannabis.
The pair were each sentenced to two years and three months in prison for their part in the biggest commercial production of cannabis ever seen in Devon and Cornwall. The three other men, Osman Hakorja, 31, Geraldo Mali, 25, and Mohamed Troci, 27, were also sentenced on April 1 after admitting cultivation of cannabis.
Londoner Hakorja was sentenced to four years and three months, while Mali from Exeter was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Mohamed Troci, 27, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to two years.
The court heard how the gang had been under surveillance when officers carried out the house raid and discovered the huge cannabis grow. Every room in the 10-bed house was used to grow more than 500 cannabis plants, with a wholesale value just shy of £250,000, and a street value of around £500,000.
Equipment used at the property along with a number of new and unused items was also discovered - estimated to be worth between £17,000 and £28,000. The Serious and Organised Crime Team carried out detailed phone work on the mobiles seized from each of the men which ultimately uncovered the scale of the operation.
Investigating officer DC Tracey Stafford said: “The arrests, charges and subsequent convictions of these individuals is the result of an investigation into one of the biggest commercial productions of cannabis in Devon and Cornwall. The sheer scale of the production shows what can happen in our force area, and goes to show that any class of drug will not be tolerated in Devon and Cornwall.
"We have relied on the public’s assistance, information intelligence and the dedication and tireless work of our team in this investigation."
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