Cannabis farms cunningly hidden in spaces dug out underground and lofts accessed via wardrobe doors

Houses were rented using false identity documents and factories set up in hidden spaces dug out underground and in lofts accessed like Narnia through wardrobe doors.

But instead of leading to a fantasy world, the trapdoors and passages concealed cannabis grows hanging on metal racks being tended to by illegal Albanian immigrants.

Today, a manager and director of the £500,000 drugs ring, Klesti Gorcellari, 24, of Sundown Avenue, Great Horton, Bradford, was jailed for seven and a half years.

He was convicted of conspiracy to produce cannabis and possession of false identity documents after a trial at Bradford Crown Court.

Trusted member of the organisation Isuf Roshi, 24, address unknown, was jailed for five years. Armando Sulce, 27, of Tern Street, Canterbury, Bradford, was imprisoned for four years.

Both were convicted of conspiracy to produce cannabis.

On Friday, two cannabis gardeners arrested in police raids on July 7 last year were each jailed for 12 months. The court heard that Andrit Toci, 33, and Revi Shehu, 25, were playing a limited role in the drugs ring.

Toci was caught at a cannabis factory in Wayland Avenue, Worsbrough, Barnsley, and Shehu at a drugs farm at Thurston Gardens, Allerton, Bradford. Both pleaded guilty to production of cannabis.

Two other members of the organisation are in prison on remand after their cases were adjourned. Elvis Abedin, 27, and Mario Tafa, 22, both of Kellett Lane, Lower Wortley, Leeds, will be sentenced next month.

Prosecutor Gerald Hendron said West Yorkshire Police and the immigration service carried out observations at addresses in Bradford, Keighley, Leeds and Barnsley.

On July 7, 2021, a major co-ordinated operation took place to search the network of rented properties.

They discovered drugs farms hidden behind false panels and trapdoors and in unsafe dugouts that had rendered properties dangerously unstable. Access to cannabis plants was through wardrobes, under kitchen cupboards and through well-concealed passages and loft hatches.

In 2019, Roshi’s prints had been found at a shop in Leeds where a police raid had uncovered a £150,000 cannabis farm. Some of the 275 plants were hidden beneath a trapdoor in the basement.

The rented house in Thurston Gardens, searched on July 7, 2021, had a cannabis farm hidden in an unstable excavated space accessed from under the washing machine. There would have been a £19,300 yield from that address, the court was told.

At an address in Keighley, cannabis with a potential street value of £46,000 was discovered with evidence of previous yields.

The address in Barnsley contained a professionally concealed grow in the loft.

In all, the 553 cannabis plants seized in the raids, plus the harvested cannabis found at the addresses, had a street value of £497,221.

Mr Hendron said the gang leaders had invested heavily in the set-up with more than £45,000 paid out to rent the properties and vehicles. That sum did not include the equipment needed to establish the farms and to heat and water the plants.

Serious damage had been done to some of the houses, with the repair bill at the Thurston Gardens address estimated to be £18,000. The landlord had already spent £10,000 making his house safe, the court heard.

Mr Hendron said Gorcellari had directed and organised the production of cannabis on a commercial scale and would have expected substantial reward. Boxes of cash seized were attributed to him and there were photographs of bundles of money and cannabis crops on his phones.

Roshi and Sulce were trusted members of the conspiracy while Toci and Shehu were gardeners for the organisation.

Judge Ahmed Nadim said the conspiracy ranked among the more sophisticated of its type. Structural changes were made to the rented addresses by excavating beneath the floors and secret access was created to loft spaces.

Gorcellari was ‘a leading light’ in the conspiracy with a previous conviction for production of cannabis. He had hired cars and secured tenancies. About £6,000 in cash was found at his address.

Roshi was also involved in the conspiracy very early on and both he and Sulce worked closely with Gorcellari.

All the men were illegal immigrants and Judge Ahmed said the Home Office may deport them when they have served their sentences.

He commended all of the officers involved in the investigation.

After the case, Detective Sergeant Karen Milner, of Bradford Precision team, said: “I welcome the sentences handed down today. This was a sophisticated operation with a substantial amount of drugs seized. 

“Drugs have no place in our communities and we will work with our partner agencies to take illegal drugs off our streets. 

“I would like to thank our colleagues at the Home Office’s Criminal and Financial investigations team for gathering intelligence which led us to this successful conviction. 

“I hope this sentence serves as a warning to anyone involved in the supply and production of drugs that you will get caught and there are hefty consequences.”

Minister for Illegal Migration, Simon Baynes, said: “Today’s sentencing is a great example of the work we do with our policing partners to put those who abuse our laws behind bars.
 
“This government is committed to dismantling organised criminal gangs, and the immigration investigation in this case was key in bringing these dangerous criminals to justice.”