Surrey: Mustafa Oustha jailed for running 12 cannabis factories

Mustafa Oustha, 39, was jailed for running 12 large cannabis factories

A crime leader has been jailed for running 12 multimillion-pound cannabis factories.

Mustafa Oustha, 39, of Harewood Drive, Northolt, west London, was charged after using five different aliases to rent drug-producing units.

Police said the large-scale operation generated cannabis plants with a street value of £6m.

Oustha was jailed for more than six years for conspiracy to produce cannabis and hiding criminal property.

Sentencing him at Guildford Crown Court, a judge said it was "difficult to envisage a more serious case of cannabis production".

The estimated street value of the cannabis plants grown was about £6m, say police

Oustha was arrested in October after Surrey Police found cannabis plants in an industrial unit in Farnham.

After months of investigation, officers found Oustha had rented industrial units including in Hayes, Wokingham, Basingstoke and Aldershot between 2016 and 2021 to produce cannabis.

He admitted renting the units, but told officers he had no knowledge of what they were being used for.

'Huge illegal business'

Sentencing him on Thursday, the judge described how Oustha had lived "the high life" from his crimes.

Officers found large amounts of cash and 18 high-value watches worth an estimated £500,000 at his home.

He also had two luxury cars and had bought properties in the UK and abroad, police said.

PC Kathryn Sandys said: "Mustafa Oustha really believed he was above the law, orchestrating this huge illegal business to grow cannabis in vast quantities.

"His activity caused huge financial costs to those he rented these buildings from, with the set up and equipment causing significant damage to each location."

Oustha was also given a Serious Crime Prevention Order, with conditions including not being able to own more than one mobile phone.

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