Eleven men jailed for roles in cannabis supply plot
Watch: Body worn video shows the cannabis cultivation in Ashford
Eleven men involved in a plot to supply cannabis on a huge scale have been jailed for a combined total of 37 years.
The group operated cannabis farms in Ashford, Canvey Island and Hertfordshire between August 2019 and August 2020.
More than 485 plants were also seized during an investigation carried out by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.
A further half kilo of the harvested drug was also seized, as well as cash in excess of £61,000.
The conspiracy to supply cannabis began to unravel in October 19 when Kent Police’s Roads Policing Unit stopped a car travelling on the M20 near Maidstone.
The driver of the vehicle was Drilon Dishi, and inside officers found a notepad, which was being used as a ledger.
Dishi was taken into custody and admitted the documents were his, but claimed they detailed ‘little jobs’ he had done on a farm in his native Albania.
He denied that the names of several people on the sheet were the identities of co-offenders and claimed that the name ‘Hekri’, referring to Hekuran Perhati, was in fact a name for a metal.
A search of his property led to £25,560 in cash being seized and Dishi was initially charged with being concerned in the production of cannabis.
He was remanded in custody but later released on court bail before he was further arrested as part of the wider Conspiracy uncovered in August 2020.
The ledger seized from Dishi, combined with his mobile phone records, provided detectives with a foundation of raw information which led to the identification of the Perhati brothers, Doris and Hekuran.
Detectives soon built up a detailed picture and a significant breakthrough came in June 2020 when a disused warehouse in rural Hertfordshire, was identified.
Detectives were able to evidence that a number of suspects, including Doris, Ylber and Fation Perhati, completed building work to turn the premises into a thriving cannabis factory.
Brooklyn Selita, Adrian Toma, Kejvi Leba and Klevis Prenga also completed work at the site, which was owned by David Toal.
Kent Police officers, working in partnership with the Metropolitan Police, Essex Police, Avon and Somerset Police and Hertfordshire Constabulary carried out a series of morning raids on 12 August 2020.
Two warrants were carried out in Ashford, with individual addresses in Victoria Crescent and Essetford Road targeted.
Court results
The following offenders were found guilty of conspiring to supply cannabis following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court.
Fation Perhati, 29, of Mungo Park Road, Rainham, East London, was jailed for three years and six months.
Ylber Perhati, 39, of Mungo Park Road, Rainham, East London, was jailed for five years.
Klevis Prenga, 32, of no fixed address, was jailed for four years.
Brooklyn Selita, 19, of Falcon Way in Harrow, Greater London, was jailed for five years. He was additionally convicted of possessing cocaine with intent to supply.
David Toal, 50, of Waterside in London Colney, Hertfordshire, was jailed for four years.
Olsin Perhati, 21, of no fixed address, was found not guilty of the same offence.
The following offenders admitted conspiring to supply cannabis prior to the trial. They were sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on the same date:
Doris Perhati, 25, of Week Street, Maidstone, was jailed for five years and three months.
Hekuran Perhati, 34, of Victoria Crescent, Ashford, was jailed for five years and seven months.
The following offenders admitted to the production of cannabis prior to the trial. They were sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on the same date:
Ndue Paluca, 30, of Maple Street, Sheerness, was jailed for 10 months.
Dashmair Disha, 35, of no fixed address, was jailed for 10 months.
Kejvi Leba, 21, of Mill Lane, Watton-at-Stone, was jailed for one year and five months.
Adrian Toma, 24, of no fixed address, was jailed for one year and seven months.
Drilon Dishi, 37, of no fixed address, has also admitted conspiring to supply cannabis, and will appear at Maidstone Crown Court for a hearing on Friday 19 November.