Cannabis farm gang boss jailed after £300,000 drug busts in Glasgow and Harthill

A cannabis farm gang boss has been jailed for eight years after raids uncovered more than £300,000 worth of drugs.

As part of a joint investigation by the National Crime Agency and Police Scotland, 52-year-old Ilir Kasa was arrested in July 2022.

During a raid, more than 350 cannabis plants were found in a former bank on Great Western Road in Glasgow.

Officers discovered sophisticated systems for planting, growing and irrigation of the cultivation.

The cannabis farm inside a former bank on Great Western Road in Glasgow. NCA

A second location in West Main Street in Harthill was also raided where a further 150 plants were discovered.

National Crime Agency (NCA) experts valued the combined haul of cannabis at more than £300,000.

Officers first witnessed Kasa attending the two properties in April 2022, but he fled the country following the raids.

A second location in West Main Street in Harthill where a further 150 plants were discovered. NCA

He returned to Scotland a few months later and was living at an address in Stepps at the time of his arrest in July 2022.

Kasa was found guilty of two counts of producing class B drugs and two of supplying class B drugs at Stirling High Court on Monday, February 19 and was jailed for eight years.

Michael Miller, NCA branch operations manager, said: “Kasa was a senior member of an organised crime group responsible for running cannabis farms in locations across the Central Belt of Scotland.

“His was a lucrative business. The plants we recovered would have generating hundreds of thousands of pounds of profit for his criminal group, which no doubt would have been re-invested in further criminality.

“Working with our partners in Police Scotland through the Organised Crime Partnership we are determined to do all we can to target, disrupt and dismantle those criminal networks doing the most harm to our communities.”

Alan Cuthbert, detective inspector from Police Scotland said: “This conviction and sentencing sends a clear message to anyone who is involved in organised crime that the supply of illegal substances will not be tolerated in our communities.

“It also underlines Police Scotland’s commitment to the Organised Crime Partnership and Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, in line with the country’s Serious Organised Crime Strategy.

“The public continues to play a vital role in assisting our investigations, and anyone with any concerns about drugs, or who has information about those involved in drugs, is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101 or make an anonymous report to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”