Two admit drug offences after £4.5m cannabis farm found in former Pagoda nightclub in Carlisle

Two men have admitted a drug production offence after cannabis potentially worth in the region of £4.5 million was found on the upper floor of a former Carlisle nightclub.

Police said about 450kg of cannabis — harvested and ready for distribution — was recovered after officers attended and gained access to a property on Lancaster Street, off Crown Street, at around 2.45pm on 10 May this year.

Two men who tried to flee the building — formerly home to the Pagoda night spot — were captured by police and appeared at the city’s crown court this morning.

Florian Daci, aged 24, and 28-year-old Edward Pula both pleaded guilty to producing cannabis, a controlled class B drug.

They appeared in court remotely over video links from custody, and were assisted by an Albanian interpreter during a short hearing in front of a judge, Recorder Julian Shaw.

Daci had been taken to hospital after police attended the building and, said his lawyer Jeff Smith, was still currently relying on crutches.

Pula told the court his role in the illegal enterprise had involved “watering the plants”.

Lawyers for both defendants declined the option of having probation service pre-sentence reports prepared.

“I think what the court will eventually do with Mr Daci is inevitable,” said Mr Smith of a looming prison sentence.

Imran Khan, for Pula, added: “It is likely it will be custody and nothing else.”

Both men, of no fixed addresses, will be sentenced in due course and are next due to appear at the crown court on 7 July having been remanded in custody.

Recorder Shaw told them: “You will, of course, get the appropriate credit (sentencing discount) for pleading today. Though as both your counsel observe, a custodial sentence is inevitable.”

A Cumbria police spokesman urged members of the public in the wake of the cannabis farm discovery: “If you have information on illegal drug activity, please contact police by reporting your information online at www.cumbria.police.uk/ report-it or call 101."

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