Albanian gang murdered Tomasz Waga for burgling £120k cannabis factory in Cardiff, court told

A drug gang allegedly murdered a man for attempting to steal cannabis plants worth £120,200, a court has heard.

Twenty-three-year-old Tomasz Waga's body was discovered by a member of the public on a street in Cardiff on January 28 2021 and he was declared dead shortly later.He, along with Carl Davies, were allegedly caught breaking into a property on Newport Road, Cardiff by Albanian gang members who beat them with weapons before taking Mr Waga in a car.Gledis Mehalla, Mihal Dhana, Mario Qato, Josif Nushi, and Hysland Aliaj are all on trial at Newport Crown Court and deny murder.

Opening the case on Wednesday (26 October), prosecutor Greg Bull KC said: "In 2020, an organised criminal gang of Albanian nationals established a commercial cannabis-growing factory in a residential area of Cardiff… It was a well-run, organised, and profitable enterprise. It was so successful and profitable that members of the gang were prepared to protect it, if necessary, at all costs.“Their determination to protect their valuable crop came to a head just after 10.30pm, on January 28, 2021, when these five defendants, together with others, murdered Tomasz Waga, a young man who had the intent of stealing the cannabis grow from the factory in Newport Road."

Mr Waga is then believed to have been bundled into a silver Mercedes in which the prosecution claim he was interrogated for information and robbed of his money and phone before being pushed out of the car and left for dead.He added: “The prosecution case is that each of the men before you either participated in the attack on Mr Waga and/or assisted and/or encouraged others to do so. In short, they were all in it together and played their part in his murder. They are therefore equally liable regardless of who did what."The court heard the property on Newport Road had previously been used as medical surgery, and was leased by the gang under the guise it would be rented by doctors working at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport.Mr Bull said the success of the commercial operation in Cardiff was leaked to others involved in the drugs world and Mr Waga and Mr Davies travelled down with two others in two cars.Upon arriving at the house, Mr Waga climbed through a window and opened the kitchen for the others, before cutting cannabis plants which they placed in a duvet cover. Gardener Hysland Aliaj was at the premises and contacted Nushi who notified the other defendants.The court heard when Nushi and Dhana arrived at the house, they were joined by Aliaj before entering the house and attacked Mr Waga and Mr Davies, with weapons. Mr Bull said: “There was plainly a fight as a result of which Mr Davies was injured and Mr Waga was brought close to death, but not to death.”

Mr Davies managed to escape and hid behind a church wall nearby, but Mr Waga was seen by a neighbour being taken to the Mercedes and bungled in. The prosecutor said it was “inconceivable” Mr Waga would have voluntarily walked into the car.Mr Waga suffered 25 injuries to his head and mouth, bruising to his chest, damage to three ribs, injuries to his arms and swelling and bruising to his brain. The cause of death was obstruction to the airways, caused by blood.On January 29, Mehalla travelled to Bristol, followed by Leeds before travelling to Albania, while Qato travelled to London. Nushi, Dhana and Aliaj also fled the country but returned to Cardiff on January 31, 2021 when they attended Cardiff Bay police station. Mehalla was subsequently extradited from Albania and charged with Mr Waga’s murder. The jury was told that Pallucci and Elezi have yet to be located and remain at large.The five defendants deny all the charges.The trial continues.