Jury clears men of running cannabis farm in Roborough

A jury has cleared three men of being involved in the hosting and setting up of a cannabis farm which was discovered in a Roborough business unit in 2022

Following a trial at Plymouth Crown Court a jury found Jakub Allaraj, aged 33 of Brigstock Road, Thornton Heath, south London and Isidor Vasilie, aged 33, of Woodside Close, Grays, Essex not guilty of one charge of conspiracy to produce class B cannabis between May 1, 2022 and September 21, 2022.

Steven Langdon, aged 64 of Old Exeter Road, Tavistock who also appeared at the early stages of the trial and who faced one charge of permitting the production of class B cannabis on premises - namely Unit 6, Hursley Business Park in Blackeven Hill, Roborough - between May 1, 2022 and September 21, 2022 - was found not guilty following a submission by his defence barrister that there was no case to answer.

Judge Matthew Turner concurred and directed the jury to find Mr Langdon not guilty.

Another man, Hazbi Isufaj aged 40, from Beckenham in London, was also charged with conspiracy to produce the cannabis and had previously pleaded guilty to his part.

During the trial prosecutor Katie Churcher told the jury of six men and six women that after executing a warrant and forcing their way into the building, officers from Devon and Cornwall Police's Force Support Group found a total of 612 plants across three rooms created inside the large business unit.

In one room they found 113 cannabis plants, another held 129 plants and a third held 370 sapling plants. In total the potential yield at full growth was estimated as being between 16.1kg and 48.3kg.

Ms Churcher explained that the wholesale value of the cannabis would have been between £80,500 and £241,500, the mid-market value would have been between £115,000 and £345,000 while the potential street value would have been between £161,000 and £483,000. Ms Churcher had previously said that a harvest of the cannabis could have taken place every 16 weeks.

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