Drugs: Police stumble upon cannabis farm in old Halifax mill after responding to brawl on outskirts of town centre

The large-scale cannabis operation inside a disused mill could have netted criminals up to £625,000 on the streets, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Officers responding to a brawl in the Back Lord Street area last September searched the large disused mill building after seeing that one of its roller shutters was up and the lights on the ground floor were on.

Prosecutor Chloe Fairley said numerous empty plant food bottles were found on the first floor and on the second floor a large room had been converted into a growing room for the cannabis plants.

“In a connecting room there was a large amount of cannabis hanging drying from the ceiling,” she told the court.

“It was clearly a significant cannabis-growing operation.”

While officers were in the building they could hear footsteps above them and the sound of smashing glass.

Three men had tried to escape by smashing a window in a disused toilet block and getting out onto the roof.

Miss Fairley said drone equipment was used to locate the men and the fire service were called in to bring them down safely.

When a police officer initially arrived on the scene, he had chased and detained Sebastian Cakraj, who had been outside the building, and today (Thursday) he was jailed for three years and 10 months for his role as “middle management” in the drugs hierarchy.

Miss Fairley said messages on Cakraj’s phone showed he had been giving and receiving instructions and police investigating the Halifax operation also found photos of Cakraj and co-defendant Hagif Gjana “posing with cannabis grows”.

Cakraj, 23, of Rowsley Road in Stretford, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to charges of producing cannabis, being concerned in the production of cannabis and possessing a prohibited weapon.

Gjana, 21, of no fixed abode, admitted having a lesser role in the production of cannabis at the Halifax mill and was jailed for 16 months.

A third defendant Davidson Asmailaj, 24, of no fixed abode, also admitted a limited role following his arrest at the mill and he was jailed for 10-and-a-half months.