Cannabis factory suspect finally busted after Kettering curry house raid

A man who grew cannabis inside a former Kettering curry house has finally been brought to justice almost three years after a raid.

Pjerin Prenga was identified as a suspect when police found a sophisticated set-up at the once-abandoned Kettering Balti House on June 11, 2019.

Officers attended the Queen Street venue at about 10.40pm after reports of three people breaking in.

Once they arrived they found 427 plants spread across three floors at the rear, with an estimated street value of £190,000.

Prenga, of Bounds Green in North London, was wanted and left the country to go to Albania.

But when he returned to the UK he was arrested and charged upon re-entry with producing the class B drug.

Last week he pleaded guilty when he appeared before magistrates in Northampton.

He will be sentenced at Northampton Crown Court on April 8.

The former Kettering Balti House unit is now occupied Mediterranean restaurant The Wama's Lounge.