Two men who operated neighbouring cannabis factories in Arbroath High Street, producing drugs with a potential value of £500,000, have been jailed.
Demirel Buruti, 24, and Petrit Shtyme, 25, previously admitted producing cannabis plants in the adjoining units.
Buruti admitted growing the Class B drug in the former Happit store, which has been shut for around a decade.
Shtyme ran a cultivation in the former bridal store next door.
However, Dundee Sheriff Court heard claims that Buruti – who is allergic to cannabis plants – had no idea a similar operation was being carried out.
Punched through a false wall
The Albanian duo’s crimes were uncovered when police forced entry on the morning of September 26 last year.
Officers obtained a warrant and raided Arbroath’s old Happit premises at 8am, forcing entry through the front door.
Fiscal depute Christine Allan told Dundee Sheriff Court: “Weeks prior, police received information regarding a strong smell of cannabis emanating from the locus.”
They found a seemingly newly-built plasterboard wall, partitioning the former shop floor.
Officers punched through the false wall and found a large number of cannabis plants.
They had to force their way through a false door to get upstairs, where they were met with another false door.
Forcing this open revealed a large growing area, with 120 plants and living quarters.
At 9.15am, police gained entry through a back door and found another door reinforced with metal sheeting.
Beyond this were stairs with another door at the top, which had to be forced.
Behind that was another growing area with between 70 and 80 fully grown plants and between 80 and 90 more in a neighbouring room.
Accused were ‘captive’ and ‘trafficked’
Police then gained entry to adjoining 154 High Street, where they found another growing area spread over three floors and the attic space.
The two men, both prisoners at HMP Perth, pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of the Class B drug.
Calum Weir, representing Buruti, said: “He had no knowledge of this operation next door and no knowledge of the other individual.
“He sacrificed his own education to assist his family and that’s part of the reason for being over here working.
“He’s not suggesting he was trafficked but was, to some extent, captive in the locus and there was fairly heightened security.
“The working conditions were deeply unpleasant.
“Not only did he find the conditions cramped and very restrictive, he was allergic to the plants also.”
Shtyme’s solicitor Nick Whelan said his client indicated he had been trafficked to Scotland with the promise of work but did not have prior knowledge of the cultivation.
Mr Whelan said Shtyme was effectively a ‘gardener’ in the operation.
Sheriff David Hall sentenced each of the men to 20 months in prison.
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