A £1.5million Albanian cannabis farming operation was uncovered by mistake when an energy company came to collect an unpaid electricity bill at an Oxford home, jurors were told.

Three men are on trial accused of being part of a conspiracy to produce the class-B drug in Oxfordshire and Essex.

It followed a police investigation into a suspected organised crime group concerned with the wholesale supply of cannabis, the court heard.

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Three separate addresses were identified as cannabis factories, two residential properties in Oxford, one on Masons Road and one on Crown Road and a large industrial unit in South Fambridge, Essex called Shellfish Farm.

Esther Schutzer-Weissman, prosecuting, told jurors at Reading Crown Court that the total value of the three alleged cannabis farms was over £1.5million.

She said the Masons Road address was the first one that came to light to law enforcement after electricity bills owed to SSE at the property had not been paid.

“SSE wanted to cut off the electricity”, Ms Schutzer-Weissman explained.

A representative from the company attended the property and “saw cannabis plants everywhere”, the prosecutor said.

The SSE employee called the police and a warrant was executed at the property on August 24, 2021. 

“The smell, if nothing else, must have been pretty overwhelming”, Ms Schutzer-Weissman told the jury.

“The grow appeared to be very professional.”

Dritan Meta, 43, Refik Skepi, 45, and Visar Elazaj, 38, are all charged with one count of conspiracy to produce a controlled drug between June 1 2021 and August 18 2022.

They all deny the offence.

The jury was told Mr Meta, of Meadow View Road, Kennington, Oxford, and Mr Skepi, of Thornton Road in Reading, Berkshire, are both Albanian nationals.

Mr Elazaj is of Balfour Road in Oxford. 

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Opening the case for the prosecution, Ms Schutzer-Weissman said: “Drugs are a business. Like any other business, they involve mundane, regular activity, unassuming locations, activity that appears perfectly normal to those around them.

“Unlike Netflix and Guy Ritchie films, it involves hard work and a number of people playing different roles. 

“Putting drugs on streets involves a financial operation, but that does not mean it is not criminal. Mundane does not mean legitimate.“This business of growing and cultivating cannabis is obviously a risky business because it is criminal, but it is worth it commercially. Large crops reap large yields. What any person can expect to gain will depend on what part they play and their position.

“The prosecution allege these three defendants are doing just this - cultivating and producing cannabis.

“This is a conspiracy offence. That means an agreement where two or more people agree to carry out a criminal scheme into effect. The criminal act is the agreement.

“The prosecution say you are going to need to consider what each defendant knew and what each defendant intended. That is evidenced often by their actions. Lack of action does not mean lack of knowledge or lack of intention.”

Ms Schutzer-Weissman said the prosecution did not need to prove that each defendant played an active role in each of the cannabis grows. 

The trial continues.