Abandoned BHS shop is turned into £1.3million cannabis farm with more than 1,700 plants across two floors
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By ROBERT FOLKER, NEWS REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
Two men have been jailed after nearly £1.3m worth of cannabis plants were found inside an old BHS store.
Ajet Begu, 40, and Aryan Turya, 27, were found inside the former High Street shop in Slough along with 1,700 cannabis plants at various stages of maturity.
Officers forced entry into the disused shop on January 28 after identifying that it was being used as a cannabis factory across two floors.
The plants had a potential yield of 150.27kg, which a drug expert witness estimated to have a street value of £1,288,020, or £525,000 wholesale.
The town's BHS closed in 2016 when the entire chain went into administration after struggling with large debts, falling sales and competition from online shopping and other retailers.
Begu of Palmers Green, north London, and Turya, of no fixed abode, were charged with producing a controlled class B drug two days after the discovery.
The pair pleaded guilty at Reading Magistrates' Court on the same day.
A judge sentenced the pair to a year and two months in prison at Reading Crown Court on August 21.
Officers forced entry into the disused BHS shop in Slough on January 28 after identifying that it was being used as a cannabis factory
Ajet Begu, 40, (pictured)and Aryan Turya, 27, were found inside the former High Street shop in Slough along with 1,700 cannabis plants at various stages of maturity
Begu of Palmers Green, north London, and Turya (pictured), of no fixed abode, were charged with producing a controlled class B drug two days after the discovery. The pair pleaded guilty at Reading Magistrates' Court on the same day
Detective Constable George Randell, the investigating officer, said: 'Following our hard work, Ajet Begu and Aryan Turya have been sentenced for their involvement in the production of more than £1m-worth of cannabis in the former BHS store in Slough.
'It was an incredible sight for my colleagues when they discovered the hundreds of cannabis plants in the factory that was spread over two floors, 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.'
Thames Valley Police said in a statement they 'will not tolerate those who attempt to exploit our communities, and to bring drugs into them.
'It is only a matter of time before we arrest you, stop your supply and seize your drugs and cash, and take you to court,' the force added.
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