A Crown Court judge has described a former Whitland cannabis factory as ‘the most sophisticated commercial cannabis factory I’ve ever dealt with.’

“It’s hard to see how much bigger, how much more organised and how much more planning was needed to turn it into an even greater industrial enterprise,” Judge Geraint Walters told Swansea Crown Court this afternoon (Friday).

Between April 2015 and October 2020, Linda McCann, her husband Edward and their son Daniel, ran the industrial-scale cannabis factory from their property in Cwmbach, near Whitland.

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Crown Prosecutor Ian Wright said the secluded property had been carefully selected and purchased by their son specifically for the purpose of producing and supplying cannabis.

Police entered Cwmbach on October 23, 2020 after breaking through a locked wooden gate. There they discovered a large barn which had been meticulously converted into a state-of-the art cannabis factory.

It contained six purpose-built rooms plus a main room, all located on the ground floor, which contained a total of 202 cannabis plants in various stages of growth.

The 202 plants weighed in at between 30 and 40 kilos and had an estimated street value of between £321,000 and £460,000. Police also seized 80kg of cannabis products which had a potential street value of almost £1.5m.

Each room contained a sophisticated hydroponic system enabling the plants to grow without soil as well as specialist lighting, humidifiers and fans.

The mains powerline had been illegally bypassed while CCTV cameras which surrounded the property had been manipulated with the result that they only recorded at certain times of the day.

An industrial oven was found to contain tins with cannabis residue which were used to produce ‘cannabis edibles’ including chocolate while a magnifying glass and secateurs used to trim the cannabis were found lying on a kitchen table.

The officers also discovered a large number of empty tins and two tin-sealing machines which confirmed that the enterprise was supplying tinned cannabis for greater longevity and a cannabis oil extractor.

On the first floor the officers discovered a number of clothes horses which were being used to dry the cannabis while ten bundles, each containing £1,000 in cash, were discovered in one of the bedrooms in the family home.

Barrister Ian Wright, representing the Crown, then read out a number of text message which had been found on their mobile phones.

These related to how they family had carefully chosen the property, their discussions concerning their plans for its development as well as business transactions.

One text told of how ‘one spliff had managed to knock out three people’ while another questioned whether the Welsh market would be sufficient to maintain their ever-expanding business – ‘If the Welsh market isn’t big enough, then Surrey will take it’.

Linda McCann, 60, along with cannabis factory workers Justin Liles, 32, and Jack Whittock, 29, pleaded guilty to conspiring to produce cannabis between April 1, 2015 and October 24, 2020, of conspiring to supply cannabis between the same dates and of acquiring criminal property in relation to the cannabis production.

Liles and Whittock were local residents who had been recruited by the McCanns to engage in the daily operation of the plans.

Edward McCann and Daniel McCann have both pleaded guilty to the offences however their inability to attend today’s hearing will result in their sentence at a later date.

Meanwhile Linda McCann’s barrister, Peter Burgess, claimed the cannabis operation began when Edward McCann was undergoing chemotherapy for leukaemia whilst the family were living in Hampshire.

“My client has been a loyal and devoted wife and mother for forty years but under extreme distress, her husband started this operation to help his treatment," he said.

"She became aware of the scale and it then became a money-making enterprise. How on earth could she break ranks when her son on one side and her husband on the other were both of the same mind?

"She was in an impossible position. Now, at the age of 60, she may never see her husband again.”

Linda McGann was sentenced to six years and seven months in custody.

Jack Whittock must serve two years and 10 months in custody and Liles 22 months.

Imposing sentence, Judge Walters highlighted the impact that cannabis production is currently having on society.

He said: “The reality is that its motivation is moneymaking but it causes so much misery on so many people addicted to the drug resulting in their suffering as well as the communities in which they live.

“This court has a duty that custody has to be the default sentence.”