Drug dealers who grew £2million worth of cannabis in a former primary school in a sleepy Welsh village have been jailed.
Alfred Perkola, 44, and Aldi Gjegjaj, 25, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis at Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday.
Police officers had intercepted two vehicles travelling together, suspected to be involved in the supply of the drug on July 4 last year.
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 £1million, hidden in laundry bags.
Officers swiftly arrested Perkola and Gjegjaj on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of cannabis.
Thanks to a tracking device on the van, they were able to analyse the GPS data, showing them the vehicle had been static in Marble Terrace, Llandysul.
Attending the exact location, officers discovered the deserted school, arousing suspicions over what was going on at Hen Ysgol Gynradd.
The three-storey building had boarded up windows, silver vents leaving and a strong smell of cannabis coming from the location.
A search led to police uncovering cannabis cultivations in various rooms, living quarters, and indications of other recent harvested plants – leading to a further seizure of 956 cannabis plants.
CCTV enabled officers to determine that a number of people had been back and forth to the former school in the days before the pair were stopped.
Perkola was sentenced to 45 months in prison, while Gjegjaj was given a sentence of 36 months.
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.’