Wellingborough cannabis factory 'farmer' jailed for production of drugs worth £75,000
A 32-year-old man found living in a cannabis factory in Wellingborough has been jailed after pleading guilty to the production of a class B drug.
Indrit Dema had run from the rear of the house in Lister Road into the path of the awaiting officers and promptly arrested following ‘community intelligence’ from suspicious neighbours.
Wellingborough Neighbourhood Policing Team executed a warrant on the afternoon of April 2 this year and found a total of 60 cannabis plants in various stages of growth, worth up £75,000.
As members of the policing team entered the front door, Dema ran out the back house – where four of the rooms and the loft had been used for the grow – into the arms of officers.
Lead investigator PC Tom Wileman said: “Community intelligence was key in the discovery of this cannabis factory so firstly, I would like to thank those people for reporting their suspicions and helping us tackle this issue.
“Cannabis factories can blight an area, and no one should feel miserable about where they live and having a factory of this nature in your local area really brings down a neighbourhood so, I hope this provides reassurance that we will act on information provided.
“Landlords should also be aware cannabis factories cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to a property and the impact on them financially is huge as they will bear the cost of the clean-up and repair.
“I would also encourage both members of the public and landlords to take a look at the signs below and let us know of anything suspicious which may indicate a cannabis factory is being set up or in operation, so we can take it down and prosecute those responsible for setting it up.”
Dema, of no fixed address, was charged with the production of cannabis and appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on April 3, where he was remanded in custody.
The case was transferred to Northampton Crown Court and he pleaded guilty before being sentenced to 45 months in prison and ordered to pay a £187 surcharge. A court order was made for the drugs and paraphernalia to be destroyed along with a forfeiture order for £200 - seized from Dema at the time of his arrest - to be redirected to a fund which support Northamptonshire charities.