Brothers ran cannabis farms on epic scale - judge

Brothers Sokol, left, and Amarildo Rranci were jailed for conspiring to run the cannabis farms

Two brothers have been jailed for running a network of cannabis farms across Yorkshire and the East Midlands.

Ringleader Sokol Rranci, 28, was jailed for seven years at Nottingham Crown Court, while Amarildo Rranci, 30, was given five years and three months.

Judge Steven Coupland said they had produced the drug on an “epic scale".

Police found plants or bagged cannabis in 14 properties across Mansfield, Barnsley, Doncaster, Hull, Scunthorpe, Worksop and Withernsea.

Officers found 13 of the properties being actively used as cannabis grows, uncovering a total of 1,400 plants valued at between £216,000 and £830,000.

They also recovered £53,000 in cash, the court heard.

The brothers were arrested in March 2022.

'Truly mind-blowing'

Judge Coupland said: "Each of you were involved in a conspiracy to produce cannabis.

"That agreement between you and others involved the production of cannabis for onward supply on an epic scale."

The court heard Sokol Rranci had assumed false identities and used fake ID documents to rent some of the properties for use as cannabis grows.

Electricity meters had been bypassed to avoid paying for energy and equipment had been set up, "causing significant damage to the properties and significant loss for the owners", Judge Coupland said.

He said: "The scale of the operation was truly mind-blowing."

Sokol Rranci, of St Anne’s Drive, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce cannabis, possessing false identity documents and possessing criminal property.

He was found not guilty at trial of human trafficking and firearms offences.

Amarildo Rranci, now of Ferry Road, Scunthorpe, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce cannabis.

He was also found not guilty at trial of a human trafficking offence.