Cannabis farm discovered in Falkirk after tapping into neighbour’s electricity supply

A cannabis farm was discovered after criminals tapped a business’s electricity supply to help run it.

Police raided the industrial site in Carron, near Falkirk, Stirlingshire, on February 5 this year.

Officers seized more than 1,800 cannabis plants, which could have produced at least £1.5 million of the class B drug.

Two men arrested that day admitted their involvement when they appeared in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow.

Albanian couple Izet Kazhaja, 27, and Lilzim Llocja, 35, pleaded guilty to involvement in the supply of cannabis.

They will be sentenced next month.

Prosecutor Ali Murray explained how police had been alerted to the cultivation in the converted unit on the estate in Stenhouse Road, Carron.

Mr Murray: “The finance director of a company – who was also renting a property there – noticed an anomaly in the electricity bill.

“An unusual odor had previously been noticed and there was suspicion as to what was going on in the adjacent unit.

“However, it was this electricity bill that resulted in the police being called to report concerns.”

When officers showed up, both Kazhaja and Llocja tried to run away.

Mr Murray said the unit had been converted into several rooms housing the cannabis plants and sophisticated lighting and heating equipment.

There was also a kitchen, as well as beds and personal belongings.

Llocja’s lawyer Patricia Baillie told the court he had been working as a ‘gardener’ on the cannabis farm and was initially unaware it was the police who had turned up that day.

Lord Cubie adjourned sentencing until November 22 in Edinburgh.

The judge ruled: “You have pleaded guilty to a serious offense involving a significant amount of cannabis.

“I recognize that your role was relatively minor and that the offense is limited to one day, but this will still attract a significant penalty.”