The Peterborough Evening Telegraph

Man jailed over drug factory

-

The discovery of a cannabis factory worth up to £170,000 has resulted in a man being jailed.

Ardit Cerriku, 29, was arrested at his home address in Bringhurst, Orton Goldhay on January 18 after the Neighbourh­ood Support Team carried out a drugs warrant.

The team discovered 203 cannabis plants worth up to £170,500 growing across three rooms within the house.

In interview, Cerriku told officers he blamed lockdown for not being able to source a legitimate job and needed to make money to pay off debts.

He acknowledg­ed what he was doing was illegal and he

would ‘repent’ for it.

Cerriku was charged with being involved in the production of cannabis which he admitted in court.

Sergeant Jason Hancock, from the Neighbourh­ood Support Team, said: “This warrant was carried out as part of my team’s work to target organised criminal activity within the county.

“Our work to tackle organised crime groups will not stop – any informatio­n passed on to us from our communitie­s helps to form part of the bigger picture, therefore I would urge anyone who has suspicions about drug dealing or production to pass it on to us.”

On Friday (February 19), Cerriku appeared at Cambridge Crown Court where he was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

Plans for the Lakeside Activity Centre and the Climbing Wall are seen as a key part of Nene Park Trust’s 10 year strategy to improve the park.

Under the strategy, the trust states it seeks to become the region’s favourite park by creating improved leisure, recreation, cultural and environmen­tal offers for the city all year round.

It is adamant it is being true to the original aims for the park set out 1988.

A trust spokesman said: “This vision was built on the founding covenant which sets out the multiple purposes and aspiration­s of the park, which included providing recreation, leisure, and education to support the social welfare of local people, as well as being a haven for wildlife and the environmen­t.”

Matthew Bradbury, the trust’s chief executive, said: “We have a clear vision to improve the leisure and recreation, culture and environmen­tal offer for people across the city year-round. The new Lakeside Activity Centre is a key part of these leisure plans and will provide an all-weather facility for people of all ages. We are excited to take this forward to the final stage.”

Mr Bradbury, who has been chair of British Mountainee­ring Council Access and Conservati­on since 2014 – a charity that aims to promote sustainabl­e access to cliffs, mountains and open countrysid­e - and was appointed as Independen­t Director of the British Mountainee­ring Council (April 2017 to August 2020), said the roles were not related to the Lakeside Activity Centre project and there were no conflicts of interest.

 ??  ?? Ardit Cerriku
Ardit Cerriku
 ??  ?? Matthew Bradbury.
Matthew Bradbury.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom