Six Albanian men were jailed at Leeds Crown Court on 16 May 2024 for growing cannabis plants worth up to £446,000 in the derelict former Moorfield House care home in Moortown, Leeds.[1][2] Alitor Deda, 30, Andi Teta, 33, and Ali Qerfozi, 42, were each sentenced to two years; Erijon Gjoka, 21, received 18 months; and Edison Markeci, 21, and Agostin Marku, 36, received 16 months each.[2]

Officers raided the Grade II-listed building on 4 December 2023 and found 811 plants growing in six rooms, capable of producing 44 kg of cannabis, with growing equipment worth up to £45,000.[1][2] Officers also found baseball bats and machetes alongside the high-powered lamps.[1] The men had worked at the site as gardeners.[2] Sergeant Simon Green said the farm was clearly run as an organised criminal enterprise, and its removal stopped nearly half a million pounds of drugs reaching the streets.[1]