Two cannabis farmers have been jailed for growing a drug crop with an estimated value of up to £1.3m in a former BHS store. Ajet Begu, 40, and Aryan Turya, 27, were sentenced at Reading Crown Court in August.
Both men are from Slough in Berkshire. They admitted producing the class B drug and were jailed for a year and two months.
The pair were growing about 1,700 plants across two floors of the unit on High Street, Slough. Police raided the site and dismantled the factory in January.
Thames Valley Police said the 150kg of plants had a potential street value of between £525,000 and £1.28m. The force described the scale of the operation as substantial.
The case highlights how disused commercial premises can be used for large-scale drug cultivation in town centres.
Det Con George Randell, of Thames Valley Police, said officers were met with an “incredible sight…all hidden behind the seemingly disused building”.
“Our intervention no doubt had a significant impact on those producing and supplying cannabis in Slough and wider, but we are continuing to investigate the cannabis factory’s links to organised crime,” Randell added.
The raid required officers to dismantle the growing equipment across both floors of the property. The plants were removed as part of the operation.
Thames Valley Police confirmed the estimated value of the crop following the seizure. The figure was based on the potential street value of the harvested drug.
The force has not ruled out further action as its enquiries continue.
Officers are working to establish who else was involved in the operation.
The sentencing of Begu and Turya brings the immediate case to a close. Both men admitted their roles in producing the class B drug.
The former BHS store on Slough’s High Street had appeared disused from the outside. The cannabis factory operated behind that appearance until the January raid.
Police believe the operation supplied cannabis beyond Slough itself. The investigation is continuing into those wider networks.
Further updates from Thames Valley Police are expected as enquiries progress.
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