TWO men have been jailed for their part in a cannabis factory set up in an abandoned Llandysul school.

Alfred Perkola, aged 44 was sentenced to 45 months in prison, and Aldi Gjegjaj, aged 25 was given a sentence of 36 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis when they appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday, 26 February.

On Thursday, 4 July 2024, police officers intercepted two vehicles travelling together, suspected to be involved in the supply of cannabis.

The Volvo and hire van were stopped and searched just after the M4, where officers uncovered close to 100kg of cannabis with a street value of £1 million, hidden in laundry bags, and mobile phones.

Officers swiftly arrested Perkola and Gjegjaj on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of cannabis, and thanks to a tracking device on the van, were able to analyse the GPS data, leading them to question why the van had been static in Marble Terrace, Llandysul.

Attending the exact location, officers were faced with what appeared to be a deserted school, arousing suspicions over what was going on at Hen Ysgol Gynradd as the three-storey building had boarded up windows, silver vents leaving the premises, and a strong smell of cannabis emanating from the location.

A search of the premises lead to police uncovering a sophisticated set up, with cannabis cultivations in various rooms, living quarters, and indications of other recent harvested cannabis plants - leading to a further seizure of 956 cannabis plants.

Thanks to the complex CCTV cameras at the location, officers ascertained that a number of people along with the hire van, had been back and forth to the former school in the days before they were stopped, with mobile phones showing they had been paired with both vehicles.

DC Steve Thomas said, “This is an excellent result to see two more individuals serve sentences for their involvement in the production and sale of illegal drugs in the Dyfed-Powys area.

“The interception of these vehicles and the individuals’ activities have allowed us to take nearly £2 million worth of drugs out of the supply chain that was destined for the streets.

“Drugs serve no purpose in our communities. We are committed to making our force as hostile as possible to drugs and will proactively carry out a variety of activities crack down on the drug supply.”

Dyfed-Powys Police has taken more than £12 million worth of cannabis out of the supply chain during a crackdown across the region.

Raiding buildings from former schools and empty town centre shops to a disused newspaper office, Dyfed-Powys Police has successfully disrupted 37 commercial sized cannabis farms, with 35 people arrested for their involvement.

And their work will not stop there, as proactive policing teams across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys continue to gather and act on intelligence as part of Operation Scotney - a CID-led operation launched in response to the increasing number of cannabis factories being established by organised crime gangs.