Three men jailed after police raid huge Hampshire cannabis factory with drugs worth up to £200k seized

Endri Gjiza, Ronaldo Rexha and Allaman Zuna are all behind bars after setting up the drug den which contained over 230 mature cannabis plants. Officers raided the factory which was inside a commercial premises in Radcliffe Road, Southampton, on February 16 just after 2.30pm.

Large amounts of cannabis was being grown under high powered lights. Dozens of bin bags worth of the substance were seized – with the street value believed to be between £66,000 and £200,000.

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Gjiza, 24, and Rexha, 24, both of no fixed abode, and Allaman Zuna, 27, of Bellevue Terrace, Southampton, were brought before Southampton Crown Court yesterday. They were previously charged with producing a controlled Class B drug.

The criminals were sentenced to 17 months in prison. Police Sub Inspector Jordan Clayton, of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Western Investigations team, said: ‘We want to stress that any production of drugs is linked to hidden harm - which is why tackling the issue is one of our main priorities.

‘These are often run by organised crime gangs, who are likely to engage in very serious violence involving weapons, such as firearms. They may also take advantage of vulnerable people, exploiting them or making them work in servitude.

‘The electrical requirement to cultivate drugs is also very dangerous and can be a huge fire risk – putting neighbouring properties, and other peoples’ lives in danger. By dismantling this cannabis factory and putting Gjiza, Rexha and Zuna behind bars, we have disrupted a local drug supply network and made Southampton a safer place for people to live and work.

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‘I hope this sentence encourages people to come forward and report information about any potential cannabis cultivation or drug supply issues they may be aware of or have suspicions about in their neighbourhood. Every call you make to us is logged and reviewed by our local Neighbourhood Policing Teams and helps us build up a bigger picture about what might be happening in your community.

‘This allows us to take robust action and prevent your neighbourhoods from harm.’