Two jailed after 6,000-plant cannabis factory raid

Two men caught attempting to flee one of the largest cannabis factories to be found by Police Scotland have been jailed for almost four years each.

Officers discovered Glendian Daci and Aurel Xhoka trying to run from the disused commercial building on West Stewart Street in Greenock, Inverclyde, when officers carried out the raid on 21 January.

Inside, they discovered more than 6,000 plants with a value of between £1.2m and £3.6m when fully grown.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Daci, 26, and Xhoka, 33, both born in Albania, were jailed for three years and nine months each after admitting being involved in the production of the class B drug.

Officers had spotted the pair running from the building after forcing their way inside during the raid.

A number of entrances to the unit had been reinforced with steel doors.

Police discovered two separate growing areas with "partition walls, insulation, lighting, heating and drainage on an industrial scale," the court heard.

Prosecutor Alan Cameron KC said it was "noted to be the largest cultivation which specialist drugs officers had seen".

A total of 3,029 plants were found in one room and 2,972 in another.

There were also living quarters and personal belongings in the building, officers found.

Daci and Xhoka ran to the top of an adjoining multi-storey car park and then down stairs before being intercepted by officers during the raid.

Daci's lawyer, Tony Lenehan KC, said he had come to the UK in the hope of a "better life" and had been "misled" about why he was in Greenock.

He was described as a "reluctant sub-ordinate" by his representative.

Xhoka meanwhile was not said to have been coerced in the legal sense, but that had he tried to escape, he would have had nowhere to go and unable to speak English.

Lady Drummond - who cut each jail-term from five years - said she accepted each had a role as a "gardener" at the drug farm.

She said: "I take into account the amount of cannabis plants and their value, which was significant.

"I also take into account the part that you both played in this."