Two men in the United Kingdom have received sentences for running an illegal cannabis cultivation operation in a toy shop.
In October, Police from Cambridgeshire, England, served a warrant at the Prams and Toys shop on Hill Street in Wisbech.
The toy shop had not been in operation since 2020, when it closed for business permanently.
Inside the shop on the first floor, police located the grow’s operators, 36-year-old Robertas Cela and 27-year-old Fjoralbo Hazizi.
Police also discovered 755 cannabis plants in various locations throughout the building’s three floors.
According to police estimates, the grow operation’s value was approximately £211,400 to £634,200.
Police Constable Matt Smart said the warrant prevented a large amount of cannabis from being sold on the streets.
“We rely on people in our communities being our eyes and ears because we can’t be everywhere,” said Smart. “If something doesn’t seem quite right it more than likely isn’t, so please report it to us. We would urge people to look out for signs of illegal cannabis factories, including blacked-out windows, people coming and going at various times of the day, and a distinctive humming noise from fans and ventilation.”
Cela and Hazizi had also been stealing electricity to run the operation.
According to British Gas the two men stole £46,477 worth of electricity over 91 days.
Cela said he was offered £300 a month to water the cannabis plants in the toy shop.
Hazizi said he was offered up to £8,000.
On Friday, December 16, the Cambridge Crown Court sentenced Cela and Hazizi to 32 months in prison.