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Man jailed after growing more than 650 cannabis plants in a disused shop

By Mark Mansfield
Photo Gwent Police

A man has been sentenced to 12 months in prison after he was found to be maintaining a cannabis farm with a crop worth more than £180,000 at a disused town centre shop.

Artan Dedia, 36, pleaded guilty to the production of cannabis when he appeared at Merthyr Crown Court today (22 January).

Gwent Police officers seized 652 cannabis plants, worth at least £182,560, after raiding the building on High Street, Chepstow, in November last year.

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Hydroponic equipment

Officers discovered the large-scale cannabis factory was spread across eight rooms and five floors, including the attic, and dismantled hydroponic equipment used to grow the class B drug was also found.

PC Hywel Evans, the officer in the case and Chepstow neighbourhood ward manager, said: “We supported Tarian, the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) for southern Wales, in carrying out this enforcement work as part of Operation Altar, which tackles the supply of illegal drugs.

“We identified this disused building in Chepstow as a suspected cannabis farm after receiving reports of suspicious activity from residents; and have now brought Dedia to justice.

“Every cannabis factory we dismantle helps disrupt these illegal operations, which are often linked to sophisticated organised crime groups.

“Our work stops the onward sale into our communities and prevents the profits from going on to fund other forms of crime.

“We encourage anyone with concerns about illegal drugs in their area to get in touch, so that we can take action."

[videopress dQtYPXpC]

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11 comments

Richard Davies

Recreational drug use should be decriminalised at the very least. Marijuana should be completely legal as it is no-where near as harmful as alcohol I feel sorry for Artan Dedia getting a custodial sentence where he will probably come out a worse criminal than before he went in. “We encourage anyone with concerns about illegal drugs in their area to get in touch, so that we can take action.” - not a chance!

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Brychan

The reason it appears on the Misuse Of Drugs Act, confirmed annually, is due to it's medically proven adverse effects. It was decriminalised in Portugal, and as a gateway drug, after a dip in deaths the first year, those already addicted, the death rate has trebled. No doubt after release Artan Dedia will be deported back to Albania.

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Gareth Westacott

Why do you say, ' - not a chance!' ?

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Garycymru

All that happens when one grow gets closed down, is 13 more are built to fill demand. The police know that this happens. The "war on drugs" is currently still being won by a plant.

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Brychan

The 'war on drugs' is a 1980s soundbite from a party conference in England. The reality is that it's a 'Drain in the NHS'. However, in Wales good policing has resulted in druggy wasters returning to England rather than clucking along the North Wales coast and a significant reduction in crime in Llanelli in the south. No druggies are welcome in Wales. 

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Sylwebydd

Very surprised at these comments. Would he have paid tax on that £180000+? I think not. For that alone he deserves what he got, as far as this honest taxpayer is concerned. That said, leagalising cannabis and selling it with VAT added is probably the way we should go.

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Brychan

They tried that in California and it's just created an underclass of poverty and zombies. No revenue from sales tax due to availability of street equivalent. In Wales it costs the NHS more cash than it would liberate anyway.

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hdavies15

Some people manage OK to use cannabis without wrecking their own lives and others'. However it is evidently a "gateway" to other substances with nasty outcomes. You only have to stroll around many town centres in most parts of Wales to see evidence of the wreckage. People use the old response - "oh it's no worse than alcohol" - as though that justifies further relaxation of the law when in reality they should be asking what should we do about alcohol abuse too ? Too often these days people get loaded up with booze and then top up with the powders or smoke dope and we wonder why they are either literally or metaphorically a "car crash" waiting to happen.

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Gareth Westacott

He deserves more than he got!

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Gareth Westacott

Nowhere in this article are we told where this Artan Dedia is originally from .... which I think is a strange omission. It is in the public interest and we have a right to know. Is he one who would qualify for deportation upon his release? If he is then I very much hope and expect that he will be - the justice system would be letting us down otherwise.

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Paul

It’s nice to see disused buildings being brought back into use but I really do think that it’s only fair for the user to pay their way with tax Ni and business rates.

Reply

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The 'war on drugs' is a 1980s soundbite from a party conference in England. The reality is that it's a 'Drain in the NHS'. However, in Wales good policing has resulted in druggy wasters returning to England rather than clucking along the No...

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