What we know as four jailed after raid on Southampton cannabis factory

Video footage showed sparks of metal flying into the air during a raid at a derelict warehouse in Pitt Road. 

Below is everything we know as more than 1,000 cannabis plants were seized.

READ MORE: Four men jailed after raid on £3.6m a year cannabis factory in Southampton

What happened?

Police swooped on the site, a warehouse in Pitt Road, Freemantle which was "guarded by a Pit Bull Terrier".

Using drones and dog units to secure the area, officers cut their way into the building in the early hours of the morning. 

What did they find at the site?

Inside, four suspects were located as well as cannabis plants worth thousands. 

In total, 1,048 cannabis plants were seized with drug experts saying the crop could have fetched a street value of up to £900,000.

Police say that makeshift ventilation pipes and electrical wiring were running through a "labyrinth of different rooms" and lamps and fans were being used to grow dozens of rows of plants across two floors.

The electricity being leached to power the factory amounted to "£625.40 per day".

A living area and bathroom were also found in a squalid condition, which were being used by the four men.

The cannabis factory. Picture: Hampshire police

What happened to the men?

One of the 'gardeners' tried to flee the scene by running across a roof only to plunge through a neighbouring building to injure his ankles.

Agron Elezaj, 27, of Jack Clow Road, London, Amarildo Sulaj, 23, of Stanhope Road, Doncaster, and Rexhino Koci, 26, and Damiano Saraci, 30, both of no fixed address, were sentenced at Winchester Crown Court this week.

Following the drugs sting in January of this year, Sulaj and Koci pleaded guilty to playing a significant role in the production of a class B drug.

Meanwhile, Saraci and Elezaj pleaded guilty to a lesser role.

Sulaj was jailed for four years and four months and Koci received a four-year sentence.

What did police say on the incident?

The factory was deemed one of the largest seen in Southampton, capable of producing four crops a year – bringing in an estimated annual turnover of £3,600,000.

DI Stuart Barton, who led the operation, said: “This factory is one of the largest we have seen in Southampton and by dismantling it, we have removed a large cog in the drug production machine in Hampshire and caused massive disruption to the organised crime gang that was running it.

“Cannabis production on this scale is so much more than just ‘a bit of drugs’. It brings organised crime, serious violence, firearms and exploitation of children and vulnerable adults into our communities.

“The ramshackle electrical wiring also presented a huge fire risk which has now been removed.

“We are only able to carry out successful operations like this with the right information. This is why it is so important you tell us about drug dealing or production in your neighbourhood – even a seemingly insignificant piece of information could be the last piece in the puzzle.”

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