Three Albanian nationals have been found guilty of operating a large-scale cannabis factory inside a derelict shopping centre in North Ayrshire.
Elton Skenderi, 30, Gjovalin Toma, 31, and Eduard Daja, 39, all pleaded guilty after police uncovered more than 3,000 cannabis plants at the former Irvine Forum in September 2024.
The cannabis haul was estimated to have a street value ranging from £611,600 to £1.83 million, the High Court in Glasgow heard.
Judge Lord Mulholland warned the trio to expect lengthy prison sentences when they return to court for sentencing next month, condemning their actions as "criminality on an industrial scale". He remarked that they had come to Scotland "to benefit from living here" but instead engaged in serious organised crime.
The sophisticated drugs operation had been set up within shuttered units of the abandoned shopping precinct. Police were alerted after Scottish Power raised concerns about unusually high energy consumption at the premises.
During the raid, officers discovered 3,058 cannabis plants alongside industrial-scale growing equipment. Skenderi and Toma were arrested that night while attempting to flee and were described as "reeking of cannabis". Daja was apprehended the following day after being seen exiting via a fire escape. He claimed to have been living inside the building.
Forensic evidence, including fingerprints, linked both Skenderi and Daja directly to the crime scene.
Further investigation revealed that Daja had a prior conviction for a similar offence in Leeds in May 2023, for which he was sentenced to eight months in prison. Following that, he was deported to Albania in July 2023 but later re-entered the UK.
Toma also had a previous conviction for cannabis cultivation, receiving a 14-month sentence in Leeds in 2022. Despite being ordered to return to Albania, he applied for asylum, and his case is still pending.
Skenderi, like his co-accused, had no legal ties to the UK.
All three men have been remanded in custody while background reports are prepared ahead of sentencing. Photo by User:Jennifer Martin, Wikimedia commons.
