Man jailed five years for 12 cannabis farms across Scotland
Afrim Krasniqi, 29, was jailed for five years at the High Court in Glasgow on 25 November 2025 after admitting his part in 12 cannabis cultivations across Scotland. Police put the crops' street value at up to 3.8 million pounds, while detectives separately calculated 876,810 pounds of cannabis produced.
Afrim Krasniqi, 29, pleaded guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh on 16 October 2025 to being concerned in the supply of cannabis across 12 cultivations, found at homes and business premises in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Penicuik, Aberdeen, Ayrshire and Angus.[1][2]Police put the street value of the grows at up to 3.8 million pounds.[1][2]
On 25 November 2025 the High Court in Glasgow jailed him for five years.[1][2][3]Lord Arthurson cut the term from six years because of the guilty plea, calling it a large-scale and carefully planned criminal enterprise.[3]Krasniqi, an Albanian illegal entrant who left Albania in 2016, acted as a middleman, using fake Italian identity documents to rent properties while his countrymen directed the grows.[3]
The charge covered March 2021 to September 2023; residents in Aberdeen tipped off police about several properties, where officers found cannabis farms and tampered electricity meters.[3]Detective Constable Karen Maxwell said the organised groups behind such grows exploit vulnerable people and damage the properties they use and the communities around them.[1][2]
Photos and video
Police custody photograph of Afrim Krasniqi published with the report on his sentencing.Photo details
Darren Davis, 39, a homeless man, and his partner Catherine Evans, 36, were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court in November 2026 for dealing 'spice' and a small cannabis quantity. Police found Davis carrying six bags of spice worth up to £750 on 2 June, and later searches of his hostel, a storage unit and Evans' home uncovered more drugs and thousands of pounds in cash.
Joel Niven, 20, of Walney near Barrow-in-Furness, was convicted of cannabis possession after officers recovered a sealed bag from him at Barrow Park. Magistrates fined him £80, ordered £117 in costs and surcharge, and sought forfeiture of the drugs. He had a previous caution for cannabis possession from December 2025.
Rorie Jeffs, 25, of Aylesbury, was found guilty of possession of cannabis at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court and ordered to pay £85 plus a further £26 surcharge. He was one of the most recent cases concluded at the court as reported in the 10 November 2026 round-up.
Three men were each jailed for four years over a large-scale cannabis factory in Greenock's former Tobacco Warehouse, raided in June 2025 with more than 1,000 plants. Ariel Ruko has appealed his sentence, with a hearing due at the High Court in Edinburgh on 17 November 2026.
