By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-09-11 11:09:42 | Updated at 2026-09-11 13:58:20
3 hours ago
A former British Home Stores (BHS) branch was converted into a £1.3million cannabis farm.
Police found Ajet Begu, Aryan Turya and 1,700 cannabis plants after entering the abandoned high street shop in Slough, Berkshire on January 28.
The plants, at varying stages of maturity, had the potential yield of 150kg, which was estimated to have a street value of £1.3million or £525,000 wholesale.
Videos from the police show multiple rooms in the old BHS store being used to grow the controlled plant.
Footage shows what appears to be a sophisticated operation, with specialist lighting, heating, ventilation and other equipment.
The pair's quarters were also in the shop, with a bed, sofa, kitchen and other amenities discovered by the police.
Begu, 40, of Palmers Green in London and his accomplice, Turya, 27, of no fixed abode, were subsequently arrested and charged two days later.
The pair pleaded guilty to producing a controlled class B drug at Reading Magistrates' Court the same day.
The seized plants had a street value of £1.3million
THAMES VALLEY POLICE
On August 21, a judge sentenced them both to a year and two months in prison at Reading Crown Court.
Investigating officer Detective Constable George Randell, of Berkshire East CID, said: "Following our hard work, Ajet Begu and Aryan Turya have been sentenced for their involvement in the production of more than £1m-worth of cannabis in the former BHS store in Slough.
"It was an incredible sight for my colleagues when they discovered the hundreds of cannabis plants in the factory that was spread over two floors, all hidden behind the seeming disused building.
"Our intervention no doubt had a significant impact on those producing and supplying cannabis in Slough and wider, but we are continuing to investigate the cannabis factory’s links to organised crime."
Aryan Turya, 27 and Ajet Begu, 40
THAMES VALLEY POLICE
The discovery of the cannabis factory in the former retailer store happened around 1.30pm on January 28, when police from the Chalvey, Upton and Slough Town Neighbourhood Policing Team forced entry into the disused building.
Slough's BHS branch closed in 2016 after the company went into administration.
Previously one of the UK's largest department stores and part of the FTSE 100, BHS struggled with large debts, falling sales and online competition.
Disused properties have previously been used by criminals to grow cannabis.
In May, Essex Police arrested a man after they uncovered a cannabis farm inside a former Barclays bank in Clacton.
A 22-year-old man was arrested at the scene after he was found hiding in the property's loft.
The force said ten rooms were converted for drug cultivation, with 960 cannabis plants seized.
Last month, a cannabis farm was discovered by police inside a historic church almost 150 years old.
Lancashire Police uncovered more than 1,500 plants at the deconsecrated St Mary's Church in Nelson, after officers noticed unusual piping running into the building.
The plants, found at various stages of growth, were spread across multiple rooms inside the church, which was built in 1879.
Upon entering the premises, officers discovered a large-scale cultivation operation, which they subsequently dismantled.
A suspect who tried to evade arrest was captured and apprehended.
