Second man jailed in connection with cannabis farm at former hotel in Hawick
Last updated 2nd Sep 2024
A second man has been jailed in connection with a large-scale cannabis cultivation unearthed at a former hotel in Hawick.
Police found Albanian national Almir Cahani hiding in an attic after using bolt cutters to gain access to the building, which had been protected by double doors.
As previously reported by Greatest Hits Radio, 77kg of the Class B drug - worth up to £771,000 - was seized during the raid on the former Buccleuch Hotel in Trinity Street, along with 410 plants which had not yet fully matured.
Last month, at Jedburgh Sheriff Court, Cahani pled guilty to producing the Class B drug and being concerned in its supply, between September 19th and October 5th last year.
However, not guilty pleas to a breach of the Electricity Act and culpable and reckless conduct were accepted by the Crown.
The 31-year-old returned for sentence at Selkirk Sheriff Court today (Monday) where he was jailed for 28 months. The sentence is backdated to October the 6th, when he was first remanded.
That was the same sentence given to his co-accused - 41-year-old Dritan Katana, also from Albania - who admitted similar charges, and was warned he faces deportation on his release.
However, unlike Katana, Cahani's solicitor revealed his client hoped to remain in the country on his release, and "appears to have successfully claimed asylum in the UK".
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He said Cahani, who effectively acted as a gardener, had been locked in the building for around two weeks before the police raid and that the cultivation appeared to have been "much older".
Sheriff Kevin McCarron warned him it was a "very serious charge" and has to attract a "substantial custodial sentence".
Meanwhile, a 25-year-old man caught with cannabis worth up to £2,000 in Selkirk has been ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.
The town's Sheriff Court today heard police found 4.8 ounces of the Class B drug in a vehicle in Linglie Road on April the 20th.
Macaulay Kerr, from Galashiels, previously pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug.
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