NATIONAL CRIME GANG OPERATED CANNABIS FARM IN NORTH STAFFS
32 years in prison for five of six members
MEMBERS of an organised crime group set up a cannabis factory in North Staffordshire as part of a ‘highly organised’ country-wide operation.
Officers believe that the Chesterton cannabis grow, as well as two others in the West Midlands, had the potential to produce around £500,000 worth of the drug every year.
Now the whole operation has been shut down and five members jailed for more than 32 years.
A sixth – 33-year-old Elvis Lushi, who was arrested in the London Road cannabis factory raid – is waiting to learn his fate.
Staffordshire Police found 42 plants in the Chesterton grow after raiding the address on February 27 last year.
It came after the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) – funded by seven police forces – had launched an investigation into the gang after ringleader Lulzim Koka was arrested in 2019 trying to leave the country with Class A drugs.
A raid in Smethwick resulted in 329 cannabis plants being found.
Just over a month later, police arrested Lushi, of London Road, Chesterton, following the raid in North Staffordshire.
Koka, aged 29, fled the UK to Europe in March – the same month as another cannabis factory in Smethwick was shut down.
It contained 69 cannabis plants and 25-year-old Edmir Tafa was arrested.
Days later, police found a gun and ammunition in a car belonging to Koka in Luton.
Officers went on to arrest Blerin Bajcinca, Sertzio Tsekrezi, and Eddison Koceku.
Koka was extradited to the UK after being arrested while trying to get from Germany to Hungary.
The five members were sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Thursday:
■ Koka, of Dumfries Street, Luton, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of possession of a prohibited weapon and ammunition, and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce cannabis.
■ Bajcinca, aged 32, of Abbots Park, St Albans, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce cannabis, and was found guilty of possession of a prohibited weapon and ammunition. He was also convicted of possession of false ID documents with intent to deceive. He was sentenced to a total of nine years and 10 months in prison.
■ Tsekrezi, aged 25, also of Abbots Park, St Albans, was jailed for three years and four months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to produce cannabis.
■ Koceku, aged 29, of Castle Street, Smethwick, was jailed for two years and three months after being found guilty of conspiracy to produce cannabis.
■ Tafa, aged 25, of Halfords Lane, Smethwick, was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to produce cannabis.
■ Lushi has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce cannabis, and is to be sentenced at a later date.
Officers have described the set up as a ‘highly organised operation’.
Police have also said that Koka, Bajcinca, Tsekrezi, Lushi and Tafa will all be deported once they have completed their sentences.
Detective Inspector Dave Skarratts, from ERSOU, said: “This was a highly organised operation that saw cannabis being produced on a mass scale.
“They were clearly prepared to resort to significant violence if needed to protect their drugs empire, shown by the dangerous handgun recovered from Koka’s car, along with a large quantity of live ammunition.
“Drugs are very much the driving factor behind a lot of the violence and exploitation within our local communities.”