An Albanian drug farmer stayed illegally in the UK to get free NHS dental treatment before joining a gang who set up a £200,000 cannabis farm.

Xhafer Furriku and two others have been jailed for a total of nine years after turning a disused public swimming pool into a massive drug factory.

Dundee Sheriff Court was told that Furriku - a retired painter and decorator - had initially travelled to the UK on a legitimate visa to visit his adult sons in Huddersfield.

But he stayed on after the visa ran out in order to take advantage of free dental work on the NHS before travelling to Forfar to help with the cannabis cultivation.

Solicitor David Kinloch, defending, told the court: ‘He came to the UK by plane to Liverpool airport on 23 September 2022 in order to visit his children.

‘Expiration of the visa took place, but he did not return home. I am not being humorous, but he said he had extensive dental work to be done and, because he was in the UK, the NHS covered that dental work.

‘He was offered employment as a painter and decorator at the Forfar location in July 2023. He travelled by bus to Forfar and met the two former co-accused for the first time.

‘He was informed he was there to tidy up and to paint and he was not allowed to leave. This wasn’t a case where he was trafficked. He overstayed his welcome.’

Furriku, 65, was jailed for three years and ordered to be deported after he admitted tending to the £187,500 cannabis crop at Forfar Swimming Pool on 8 August 2023.

Sheriff Tim Niven-Smith said: ‘You pled guilty to the production of a controlled drug, namely cannabis, at the disused swimming pool in Forfar.

‘There was a complex electrical system of wiring, switches and transformers... There were heat lamps on the ceiling and fans attached to the walls. There was a ventilation system in place.

‘This was a large-scale commercial enterprise. You entered the country legally to visit family. It is unclear exactly how you became involved in this commercial enterprise.

‘Courts in this country will not tolerate criminal gangs from wherever they might emanate. Deterrence is an important consideration when sentencing.’

Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson told the court: ‘This is a disused swimming pool, sitting empty for a number of years. The property is boarded up to prevent members of the public accessing it.

‘Intelligence was received by police about its suspected purpose for a cannabis cultivation and a drugs search warrant was granted.

‘Prior to entry the power was cut to make the area safe. An angle grinder was used to force entry by cutting two handles off the disabled access door.

‘Officers made their way to the basement area of the building where they discovered a significant cannabis cultivation. It was within the disused swimming pool and changing area.

‘They traced the accused and two others were apprehended as they attempted to flee from the area. It was established the accused could not speak any English.’

When officers were eventually able to quiz Furriku about being in Scotland and monitoring the drug farm, he said: ‘I came here to clean and paint.’

Mrs Wilkinson told the court that another room was also full of plants and in total the farm amounted to 250 plants with a potential yield worth £187,500.

Illegal immigrants Hajri Musa and Gerald Daci have already been jailed for a total of six years for their role in the swimming pool drug growing scheme.

The disused pool, which had been gifted to the town by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, had lain empty since 2017 and had been sold off by Angus Council to a mystery buyer for £50,000 just months before the cultivation came to light.

Fiscal depute Gavin Letford previously told Dundee Sheriff Court that both men were Albanian nationals who had entered the United Kingdom illegally.

Receipts were found in the hastily-assembled living area which showed the gang had bought supplies from Asda and B&Q to set up the sophisticated operation.

Solicitor Ali Short, for 39-year-old Musa, from Paisley, said her client had submitted an asylum claim but had no status in the UK and would continue to be held in custody by the Home Office.

Daci, 21, from London, was said to have been in the UK illegally for a number of years and had already notched up a previous conviction for a firearms offence.

(Source: Daily Mail)