Kent Police carried out a search warrant at a property on Riverbank Way in the Willesborough area of Ashford on 4 August 2026 as part of an investigation into serious organised crime.[1][2] Marius Dardha, 33, an Albanian national of no fixed address, tried to escape into the rear garden when officers came through the front door, but waiting officers apprehended and arrested him.[1][2]
Inside, officers found five rooms converted to grow cannabis, including a hidden space behind false walls reached by crawling through a cupboard in a living-room sideboard.[1][2] They seized about 250 mature cannabis plants.[1][2] Analysis of Dardha’s phone uncovered photographs and video recordings of the plants, showing his involvement in supplying cannabis, a Class B drug, dating back to September 2025.[1][2]
Dardha was charged with the production of cannabis and pleaded guilty.[1][2] He was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on 20 October 2026 to 16 months in prison.[1][2]