Five jailed after cannabis growing network found

Rexhino Myrtaj, Laurenc Mingaj, Martin Myrtaj, Klajdi Agalliu and Miklovan Myrtaj (clockwise from top left) have been jailed

Five men have been jailed after police discovered a network of properties being used to grow cannabis.

More than 80 plants were found in three bedrooms of a house in Rugby, Warwickshire, in September. Three men were arrested.

Analysis of the trio's phones led to officers finding another property and discovering £15,000 in cash before tracing a fourth where more than 30 plants were found.

The men received sentences of between three months and a year at Warwick Crown Court following guilty pleas.

Cannabis with a value of £162,000 was seized, Warwickshire Police said.

Officers went to the first property in Grosvenor Road after a tip off.

They forced entry inside after smelling cannabis, hearing fans and seeing blinds and curtains were shut.

They found 42 plants in the front bedroom and 40 plants in the loft as well as used bags of soil and stripped plants , suggested a crop had recently been harvested, the force said.

Defendants Miklovan Myrtaj, Rexhino Myrtaj and Laurenc Mingaj were all arrested in the house.

Mobile phone analysis showed regular deliveries were being made to a flat in Bedford Street, Coventry where police found defendant Martin Myrtaj and seized more than £15,000 in cash.

While they were at the flat, fifth defendant Klajdi Agalliu appeared and was detained.

Police recovered a receipt for equipment that could be used to produce cannabis and a utility bill for a house in Torrington Avenue, Coventry.

At that property, officers found 32 mature cannabis plants drying in the loft along with growing equipment.

Analysis of Mingaj’s phone showed he had made 83 visits to Richmond Street in Coventry and neighbours identified a house in the street they suspected was being used to grow the drug.

A further 119 cannabis plants were found there.

Det Sgt Tom Quinlan, from Rugby Serious and Organised Crime Team, said: “This investigation was very much the gift that kept on giving with a trail of evidence leading to four properties being used for criminal enterprise."

The defendants:

• Miklovan Myrtaj, 33, of Bedford Street, Coventry, was jailed for 58 weeks after pleading guilty to production of cannabis.

• Rexhino Myrtaj, 27, of Bedford Street, Coventry, was jailed for a year after pleading guilty to production of cannabis and possession of cocaine.

• Laurenc Mingaj, 30, of North Street, Coventry, was jailed for a year after pleading guilty to production of cannabis.

• Klajdi Agalliu, 23, of Walsgrave Road, Coventry, was jailed for three months after pleading guilty to production of cannabis.

• Martin Myrtaj, 25, of Bedford Street, Coventry, was jailed for a year after pleading guilty to possession of criminal property.