Man jailed after 'huge' cannabis farm sniffed out

A custody picture of Rakip Karanxha, from BeverleyImage source, Humberside Police
Image caption,

Rakip Karanxha, 45, has been jailed for five years

  • Published

A man has been jailed after a cannabis farm worth nearly £400,000 was discovered at a property in Beverley.

Rakip Karanxha, 45, was arrested after officers noticed the smell of cannabis coming from a property in North Bar Without, in December 2021.

He was found guilty of producing cannabis following a three-day trial at Grimsby Crown Court last week.

Karanxha, of Butterfly Meadows, Molescroft, was jailed for five years.

Humberside Police said the "large-scale" growing operation included six rooms filled with more than 350 plants.

Officers also discovered a concealed door leading into the storeroom of a restaurant next door, which Karanxha was managing.

The electrics had been tampered with, potentially creating a fire risk, the force added.

'No remorse'

PC Karl Freeman said: “This was a huge cannabis grow containing over 350 live cannabis plants with an estimated street value of around £395,000."

Dried cannabis, worth about £2,680, was also found.

Karanxha had shown "no remorse" and had gone to "great lengths" to conceal his crimes, including by using large kitchen appliances to obstruct the door between the property and the restaurant, PC Freeman added.

Follow BBC East Yorkshire on Facebook, external, X (formerly Twitter), external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to eastyorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk, external