Northamptonshire Police first found the network in October 2014 after the public raised concerns about a warehouse in Brackmills, Northampton holding 3,400 plants in various stages of growth.[1][2] A second factory with 2,500 plants was found on the Corringham Road Industrial Estate in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, and 300 more were uncovered at a property in St James Park Road, Northampton in June 2015.[1][2] Police said the group used forged documents to rent the industrial units from unsuspecting landlords, paid more than £50,000 in rent, and had £60,000 in cash seized from home addresses.[2]
Sentences
At Northampton Crown Court on Thursday 28 September 2017, Dinesh Khetani, 33, of Brent, London was found guilty of conspiracy to produce cannabis after a trial and Peter Brown, 28, of Stanford-le-Hope, Essex pleaded guilty to the same offence; both received six years in prison.[1][2] Kye Nixon, 27, of Hoo, Kent and Warren Willsher, 27, of East Ham, London each received three years and four months after pleading guilty, while Nicola Bowers, 29, of Stanford-le-Hope admitted money laundering and received a four-month suspended sentence with 120 hours of unpaid work.[1][2] Police estimated the factories could have generated around £10 million a year had they kept operating.[2]
