Man appears in court in connection with £200,000 cannabis farm in centre of Galashiels
Last updated 20th Jan 2025
A 38-year-old Albanian man has appeared in court in connection with the discovery of a £200,000 cannabis farm in the centre of Galashiels.
Selkirk Sheriff Court today (Monday) heard police found 237 plants - worth the potential six-figure sum - during a raid on the former Why Not? store in Channel Street last summer.
Appearing from custody, Erson Shurdha pled guilty to being concerned in the production of a controlled drug - by growing and producing cannabis between April 20th and May 2nd, 2024.
It was the third cultivation to be found in an empty retail unit in the same street in three months.
In March, two cultivations worth more than £2 million were seized following raids on the former Woolworths and Ladbrokes stores.
It's believed to be the biggest haul of drugs ever seized in the Borders in a single day.
Five men - also of Eastern European origin - were arrested in connection with the earlier raids, with four having already been sentenced - including a retired police officer.
While, in November 2023, hundreds of cannabis plants estimated to be worth around £500,000 were found at a disused nightclub in neighbouring Overhaugh Street.
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Two other Albanians have also recently admitted their roles in a £105,000 cannabis farm in Hawick in May last year.
Sentence has been deferred on Shurda for background reports, and he has been remanded in custody meantime.
The case will recall at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on February 10th.
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