Almir Cahani, a 31-year-old Albanian national, was jailed for 28 months at Selkirk Sheriff Court on 2 September 2024 for producing cannabis at the former Buccleuch Hotel in Hawick.[1][2] Police found him hiding in an attic after he used bolt cutters to get into the building, which had been secured with double doors.[1][2] The raid on the Trinity Street hotel, carried out in October 2023, uncovered 77 kg of cannabis worth up to £771,000 alongside 410 plants that had not fully matured.[1][3][2] Cahani pleaded guilty at Jedburgh Sheriff Court to producing the class B drug and being concerned in its supply between 19 September and 5 October 2023, while not-guilty pleas to breaching the Electricity Act and to culpable and reckless conduct were accepted by the Crown.[1] His sentence was backdated to 6 October 2023, when he was first remanded.[1]
The co-accused
Dritan Katana, 41 and also from Albania, received the same 28-month sentence after admitting similar charges, and was warned he faces deportation on release.[1] Unlike Katana, Cahani told the court he hoped to remain in the country and appears to have successfully claimed asylum in the United Kingdom.[1] Cahani’s solicitor said he had effectively acted as a gardener, had been locked in the building for around two weeks before the raid, and that the grow appeared much older.[1] Sheriff Kevin McCarron told Cahani the offence was very serious and had to attract a substantial custodial sentence.[1]
