Retired builder Gerald Davies, 63, and buildings designer Kenneth Vincent, 59, were each jailed for three years and four months at Mold Crown Court on 3 December 2012 after admitting producing cannabis and conspiring to supply it from the disused Faenol railway tunnels at Bangor.[1] Philip Bigley, 22, and Christopher McIntyre, 30, who worked as gardeners at the site, received twelve months each after admitting production charges.[1]
Officers working on Operation Gumshoe raided the tunnels on the morning of 9 May 2012 after smelling cannabis, finding a mushroom farm that fronted five hidden growing rooms reached through a cabin with a concealed trapdoor.[1] They recovered 1,207 plants in various stages of growth, with blocks capable of supporting 1,600 more; cannabis in one room alone had an estimated street value of £225,000, and the potential yield was put at £254,000.[1] North Wales Police called it one of the most sophisticated commercial-scale cannabis operations found in the region, estimating its annual yield at £2 million.[2]
The court heard the mushroom business had been a genuine enterprise, but that Davies and Vincent came under pressure from Liverpool criminals who saw the tunnels as an ideal factory; McIntyre said he worked there to pay off a £3,000 debt.[1]
