Belfast Crown Court jailed two Afghan nationals for their involvement in a cannabis factory in North Belfast worth up to £500,000.[1] Faroz Ahmed, 34, of Cromwell Road in south Belfast, had pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis and possessing £2,280 in criminal-property cash.[1] Shahidullah Arghandabi, 27, of Popes Lane in London, had pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis.[1] Judge Philip Gilpin imposed a 24-month determinate sentence on each man, split equally between custody and supervised licence after release.[1]

In February 2024 the owner of a large commercial premises on Limestone Road in North Belfast rented it to a London company called Just Meet and Eat.[1] The landlord regained access on 7 June 2024, found an industrial-scale cannabis factory and alerted police.[1] Officers found 553 healthy flowering cannabis plants and 357 seedlings, plus hundreds of soil-filled pots and 47 black bags of cut cannabis leaves.[1] Police described the site as a sophisticated cannabis-growing operation and valued the plants at between £110,000 and £497,000.[1]

Ahmed was stopped in a Renault van at Holywood train halt in County Down with cannabis plants in five bags and £2,280 in cash.[1] Arghandabi drove a Ford Transit van from Cairnryan to Belfast on 29 March 2024.[1] The van carried electric boards, fans and filters for use in cannabis cultivation.[1] Ahmed admitted his role on the basis that he did not set up the factory, rent the premises or share in profits and acted at the direction of others.[1] Arghandabi accepted he was not an organiser of the operation but was assisting in cultivation.[1] The judge ordered destruction of all the drugs and other items seized at the factory.[1]