A man who set up a Letchworth cannabis factory containing thousands of plants worth up to £3.25 million has been jailed for six years.
Mohammed Jamshaid Akhtar used an array of false identities to lease and kit out a series of factories, including a building in Jubilee Trading Centre in Letchworth.
Police discovered a crop of 3,865 plants at the site after responding to a burglary at the factory on October 28, 2013.
This followed a discovery of a factory in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, containing almost 3,000 plants with a potential value of £4m a month earlier. A further unit was discovered in Buckinghamshire, which was in the process of being set up as a cannabis factory.
The 51-year-old was arrested outside his home in Forest View, London, on April 24. Akhtar admitted three charges of being concerned in the supply of cannabis and four charges relating to false documents and was jailed for six years at Peterborough Crown Court on Monday.
Detective sergeant Sean Spencer said: “This was a complex investigation. Akhtar used a number of false identities to lease and hire equipment to set up the factories, but he left a trail which we were able to use to track him down.
“There is no doubt he was an important cog in the cannabis production chain and it is pleasing we have been able to bring him to justice.”
Officers from Cambridgeshire police have also seized more than £100,000 from his bank accounts which will be subject to a Proceeds Of Crime Act hearing at a later date.
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