On Monday 19 January 2026 Macclesfield officers executed a warrant at a boarded-up former registry office on Park Green.[1][2] Four ground-floor rooms held fully grown cannabis plants.[1][2] The building had living quarters with fresh food, beds, a washing machine and drying clothes; a radiator was still warm.[1]

Around 5pm a thermal search found Viktor Ymeralilaj, 31, of no fixed address, crouched behind a roof beam in the loft after about eight hours.[1][2] He told police he had been held against his will by two men who employed him to water the plants; he was nonetheless charged.[1][2]

Police Constable David Noon estimated the street value of the cannabis at upwards of £175,000 and said it had been destroyed.[1][2] On Wednesday 18 February 2026 at Chester Crown Court Ymeralilaj pleaded guilty to cultivation at the first opportunity and was jailed for 16 months.[1][2]