Roman Le was the ringleader of an illicit cannabis farm operation
This is the moment a gang boss who operated a network of cannabis factories is led out of his city centre flat.
National Crime Agency bosses ram down the door of a swanky new build flat nestled in Essex Street in Birmingham and lead away Roman Le in handcuffs.
The 37-year-old ringleader ran at least eight farms in residential and commercial properties, as well as a storage facility housing both equipment and harvested cannabis.
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He sourced the properties by posing as a property developer and would buy or rent them.
In some cases, scaffolding was put up around the buildings in the guise that renovation work was taking place when, in fact, it was being used to house a cannabis farm.
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Le worked with co-defendants Yihao Feng, aged 29, from Manchester, and David Qayumi, aged 36, from Plumstead Road, Birmingham, to source and operate the properties.
Among them were a disused nightclub in Coventry, a former public house in Birmingham, and an old hotel in Lancashire.
Overall, the farms were capable of making millions of pounds worth of cannabis.
Qayumi posed as a businessman, working with Le to buy, rent or sub-let the properties, while Feng acted as an ‘operations manager’ for the group, making sure the factories kept working and that what was happening inside was kept a secret.
Many of the farms were staffed by Vietnamese or Albanian illegal migrants, some of whom were likely being exploited because of their immigration status.
Both Feng and Qayumi pleaded guilty to conspiring to produce cannabis, but Le denied the charge, claiming he was a legitimate businessman who had no knowledge that the properties he had an interest in were being used for cannabis grows.Following an eight-day trial at Birmingham Crown Court, on 5 June he was found guilty.
A judge at Birmingham Crown Court handed Feng a sentence of three years and two months in prison, Qayumi got three years and four months.
Le will be sentenced on 30 July.
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