TURN TO PAGES 12 & 13 £430K HASH GANG GETS 18 YEARS
A gang behind a £ 430,000 cannabis factory caught after going for pizza have been caged for a total of 18 years.
David Kerr, James Robertson, Brian Scally and Ian Matthews were snared when they were spotted leaving the massive operation to pick up a takeaway.
Cops swooped and
012.0161.2001453
4 CASTLE TERRACE, BRIDGE OF WEIR, PA11 3EF
found more than 700 plants growing across three floors in a converted office block in Paisley.
All four pled guilty to supplying the drug during a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Judge Lord Clark told how they ran a sophisticated operation spanning 13 different rooms.
He said: “You have pled guilty to a serious charge.
“Scally treated this like a job but this was a criminal project. Matthews was an electrician working on the premises and you played a part in the operation.
“Kerr was a joiner cementing walls and creating locks for the premises and this was essential work.
“Robertson’s role was to look after the plants as he was a landscape gardener and was fundamental for this type of enterprise.”
The gang ran the operation from a block in Paisley’s Glasgow Road.
Police began monitoring the site after receiving a tip-off.
They raided the factory and were immediately hit with the strong stench of cannabis.
They swept the building after in January last year – recovering 718 plants worth £430,800.
Extra power sockets had been fitted and windows were covered with reflective panels.
Experts believed it would have cost £50,000 to set up.
Scally, 37, was cornered during the sweep and blurted: “It is not mine. I just work here.”
Prosecutor Duncan McPhie earlier told how the men were caught when they left the factory to pick up a pizza.
He said: “Po l i c e recovered CCTV footage from a branch of Pizza Hut nearby.
“This linked the four to the scene showing them entering and leaving.
“The growing operation was sophisticated with fans, ducting, lighting and other associated items of equipment.”
The court heard officers also got CCTV footage from the nearby Lagoon Leisure Centre, which further pinned the four.
DNA and fingerprints later linked them to the scene.
Scally told police he had been paid £300 per week to “tend” the plants.
The other three made no comment when initially quizzed.
Scally, of Johnstone, and Matthews, 37, of Paisley, were sent down for four years each for their involvement.
Kerr, 30, of Johnstone, and Robertson, 39, of Paisley, were each handed five-year stretches.
A man in the public gallery bawled as the sentences were read out, yelling: “You’re having a laugh, man.”