Trio who ran Lincolnshire's 'largest' cannabis farm jailed

Xhemal Derdi, Ismail Elezi and Alfred Alla were each jailed for 39 months

Three men who ran what police described as the biggest marijuana-growing operation ever found in Lincolnshire have been jailed.

The cannabis farm, capable of producing drugs worth millions of pounds, was discovered after police raided an industrial unit in Boston.

Nearly 3,000 plants were found at the unit after it was raided in March.

The men, all of no fixed address, admitted production of cannabis and were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court.

Xhemal Derdi, 24, Ismail Elezi, 26, and Alfred Alla, 21, were each jailed for 39 months.

A total of 2,985 cannabis plants were found growing in four rooms within the unit

Officers uncovered the farm on 26 March, describing it as "the largest scale cannabis grow the county has ever seen".

The court heard a total of 2,985 cannabis plants were found in four rooms, with the electricity supply having been bypassed.

Kaja Reiff-Musgrove, prosecuting, said: "This was an industrial scale cannabis grow. The estimated yield is between 79 and 239 kilos.

"The street sale value of the cannabis at the lower estimated yield would have been £800,000. The higher estimated yield would have produced a value in the millions of pounds."

The court also heard part of the building had been set aside as living quarters for the men involved with growing the plants.

Police arrested Derdi after entering the building in the Fishtoft Road area of the town and then found Alla hiding in the ventilation ducts. Elezi was found after officers later returned to the building.

The court also heard the men, who had entered the country illegally from Albania, would face deportation when they were released.

Passing sentence, Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight said: "The cannabis grow discovered by the police that day was industrial in scale.

"It was a professional enterprise. The electricity was bypassed, there were hydroponics and ventilation fitted [and] balsamic vinegar was being used to mask the smell.

"You were obviously aware and knew of the scale of the operation. You were working for financial gain," she added.