The huge drugs haul was found opposite a police station

Two men have been jailed after running a cannabis factory in a derelict nightclub - situated directly opposite a police station.

Elidon Leka and Blerim Daci had around 60 cannabis plants being cultivated within yards of Sutton Police Station in South London.

But their haul was discovered when officers smashed their way into Alley Cats and Basement night club through a barricaded door - and found the plants hanging over the ceiling, ready to be harvested.

Leka, 26, was jailed for 20 months, while Daci, 28, was handed a 24-month jail sentence at Croydon Crown Court.

Blerim Daci (left) and Elidon Leka (right) have now been jailed

It’s believed that the men had been living rough in the nightclub, which closed two years ago, while they cultivated the stash - which had an estimated street value of £170,000.

Describing the pair’s ‘audacity’, a local taxi driver said: ‘I’ll give them a ten out of ten for balls. It definitely took some for their audacity.

‘I could tell something had been going on out the back because the office absolutely reeks of the stuff.

The drugs were found in an abandoned nightclub

‘People walk into the shop, have a smell and walk straight back out. It’s obviously not very good for business.’



Leka and Daci both admitted cultivating Cannabis.

PC Paul Arnold said: ‘Officers worked well to gather the evidence from a building where the inside had been ripped out and left in a hazardous condition.’