A 48-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for 28 months after the discovery of a £1 million cannabis cultivation at a former bookmakers in Galashiels.

Petrit Musta pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of the class B drug.

Prosecutor India MacLean told Jedburgh Sheriff Court how police officers raided the former Ladbrokes store in Channel Street on March 26 and spotted Musta trying to leave the building through the fire escape.

She said 360 plants were found in one room and another 1,000 plants in a larger room.

Ms MacLean explained there had already been one crop and this was the second and described the set-up as a "sophisticated and organised operation on an industrial scale".

She gave a value of £1m for the cannabis cultivation.

Musta's lawyer explained her client had been working in Belgium in 2022 and had paid £18,000 to be transported to the UK in a lorry and arrived in Birmingham in 2023 where he was working illegally at a car wash.

He was approached and offered a job in Scotland working in construction but when he arrived he found it was to be a "gardener" for the cannabis cultivation. 

The lawyer claimed he initially said no but then accepted the post as it was better conditions than working in a car wash.

Sheriff Kevin McCarron said: "This is a substantial value of cannabis and a substantial custodial sentence is unavoidable."

His starting point was 42 months but it was reduced to 28 months to reflect the guilty plea.

This was backdated to March 28 when Musta was first remanded in custody in connection with the matter.