Four men jailed after £390,000 cannabis farm found at Workington bookmakers

Prosecutors say a large carbon filter was installed to remove odour and there has been efforts to obscure light from the grow lamps escaping and being seen from outside. Credit: Cumbria Police

Four men have been jailed for their involvement in a £390,000 cannabis farm found in a former Workington bookmakers.

Eneo Kamberi, 24, Eriton Qato, 28, Esat Qama, 25 and Edwart Rrampushaj, 37 were all given 21-month sentences at Carlisle Crown Court.

Police had first received reports of a number of men acting suspiciously and loading a silver Ford Transit van at Market Place in January. 

The van was stopped on the M6 in Lancashire by an officer keeping lookout who felt the vehicle was low to the ground and appeared overloaded.

After the officer detected a strong smell of cannabis he decided to search the van, finding 120 black plastic bags containing waste products which were the remnants of a cannabis grow.

Officers attended 7 Market Place and forced entry using metal cutters to pierce shuttering which had been maintained. They located a cannabis grow with maturing or close-to-maturing cannabis plants in three rooms with “juvenile” plants in the fourth.

Three of the men were arrested when the van was stopped with the fourth being found at the cannabis fam. Credit: Cumbria Police

All four men, admitted being concerned in the production of a controlled drug of class B.

Significant efforts had been used to maintain the external bookmakers facade to conceal the grow according to prosecutor Jack Troup.

A total of 246 cannabis plants were recovered. A drugs expert estimated that a potential yield for street sale could have weighed in at almost 39kg and been valued at up to £388,680.

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