Estate Agents director jailed after using rental properties as cannabis farms
Condor Estates director Sarfraz Farooq has been jailed for eight year and four months.
The director of an estate agents who used rental properties to house cannabis farms has been jailed for more than eight years.
In total, five men were sentenced to more than 14 years at Luton Crown Court on Thursday (10th of September).
The group was arrested after Bedfordshire Police's Operation Costello team discovered a sophisticated network which was being run through estate agency company Condor Estates. The team's investigation exposed links to cannabis cultivation, fraudulent tenancy agreements, the purchase of specialist hydroponic equipment and money laundering.
During 2024, officers carried out enforcement action at 20 properties; 19 in Luton and one in Milton Keynes. They discovered cannabis factories at 19 out of the 20 properties that they searched, with cannabis growing equipment found at the other one.
At the properties, almost 2,000 plants were recovered, worth up to £800,000. The police estimate that had the properties not been found, the plants could have generated cannabis with a street value of more than £2 million in just 12 months.
The director of Condor Estates, 46-year-old Sarfraz Farooq, was at the forefront of the network. He was responsible for a large amount of fraudulent documentation, including paperwork used to create false tenancy agreements for properties being used for cannabis cultivation.
He used homes belonging to genuine landlords who trusted the agency to legitimately rent out their properties to tenants. The landords were provided with what they believed to be valid tenancy agreements and rental payments.
Uan Gogu, 42, played a central role in establishing the cannabis factories. He used properties connected to Farooq and arranged for specialist hydroponic equipment to be installed. He was also involved in bypassing electricity meters, creating significant safety risks and causing fires at three of the properties.
Also involved were 33-year-old Zohaib Riaz Ali, who assisted the operation by buying hydroponic equipment, while Mohammed Farooq, 76, purchased a property in cash that was subsequently discovered to be operating as a cannabis factory.
Sarfraz Farooq, of St Catherines Avenue, Luton, was sentenced to eight years and four months' in jail for his role in the cannabis conspiracy and related fraudulent activity. He has also been disqualified from acting as a company director for 10 years.
Uan Gogu, of Ashcroft Road, Luton, was sentenced to six and a half years imprisonment for conspiracy offences and possession relating to the cannabis factories.
Zohaib Riaz Ali, of Biscot Road, Luton, was given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, for intentionally encouraging the offence.
Also sentenced was Glentjan Sefaj, 29, of Latimer Drive, Hornchurch, who received an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, for conspiracy, and Mohammed Farooq, 76, of St Catherines Avenue, Luton, who received a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, for his role in money laundering.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Mullan, from Bedfordshire Police's Operation Costello team, said: "These sentences represent a significant result against an organised criminal network that was operating cannabis factories on an industrial scale across our county.
"Drug dealing goes far beyond street dealers. Behind what the public sees, this type of high-level criminality relies on a network of individuals carrying out different roles, from sourcing properties and producing fraudulent documentation to supplying specialist equipment and maintaining cultivation sites.
"But the impact and dangers of these factories go beyond the growth of cannabis plants. Behind this network are victims who had their homes destroyed and left in a state of disrepair.
"Operation Costello is committed to identifying and disrupting every part of the organised crime chain, including those who enable criminal activity for financial gain. These convictions send a clear message that we will pursue everyone involved and bring them before the courts.
"We continue to urge communities to report suspicious activity in their neighbourhoods. What may appear to be anti-social behaviour can often be an indicator of much wider organised criminality, and the information we receive from the public plays a vital role in helping us tackle it."