WIREDGOV

A senior figure in an organised crime group responsible for running cannabis farms in Scotland has been jailed, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency and Police Scotland.

Officers from the joint Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland) witnessed 52-year-old Albanian national Ilir Kasa attending two properties in Glasgow and Harthill in April 2022.

When NCA and police officers moved in to raid the first site, based in a former bank on the Great Western Road, Glasgow, they found it contained more than 350 cannabis plants and sophisticated systems for planting, growing and irrigation.

A similar set up was found at the second location in West Main Street, Harthill, containing a further 150 plants.

NCA experts valued the combined haul of cannabis at more than £300,000.

Following the raids Kasa left the country. He returned to Scotland a few months later and was living at an address in Stepps at the time of his arrest in July 2022.

Kasa was charged with two counts of producing class B drugs and two of supplying class B drugs.

Following a trial at Stirling High Court, on Monday 19 February he was found guilty of those charges and jailed for eight years.

NCA Branch Operations Manager Michael Miller said:

“Kasa was a senior member of an organised crime group responsible for running cannabis farms in locations across the Central Belt of Scotland.

“His was a lucrative business. The plants we recovered would have generating hundreds of thousands of pounds of profit for his criminal group, which no doubt would have been re-invested in further criminality.

“Working with our partners in Police Scotland through the Organised Crime Partnership we are determined to do all we can to target, disrupt and dismantle those criminal networks doing the most harm to our communities.”

Detective Inspector Alan Cuthbert from Police Scotland said:

“This conviction and sentencing sends a clear message to anyone who is involved in organised crime that the supply of illegal substances will not be tolerated in our communities. It also underlines Police Scotland’s commitment to the Organised Crime Partnership and Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, in line with the country’s Serious Organised Crime Strategy.

“The public continues to play a vital role in assisting our investigations, and anyone with any concerns about drugs, or who has information about those involved in drugs, should contact Police Scotland on 101 or make an anonymous report to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."