Cannabis stash ‘removal’ man stopped by police wearing hi-viz and hard hat

A van driver caught transporting the remains of a cannabis crop which could have been worth almost £100,000 has been handed a prison sentence.

Elio Cepele, 30, was wearing a high visibility jacket and builder’s hard hat behind the wheel of a Vauxhall van when stopped by police on the M6 southbound, near Penrith, on February 17.

Police pulled Cepele over because the vehicle had no insurance. After an officer smelled cannabis on the driver, his vehicle was searched. And that resulted in 118 black bin bags being found.

There was soil in each; a large quantity of leafy vegetation in several of those; a cardboard box containing numerous mature stems from what appeared to be cannabis plants; a length of ventilation hose and duct tape; and around £1,500 worth of nutrient solution.

A police drugs expert concluded the original cannabis stash could potentially have been worth £99,120.

Cepele was also found with £550 cash and refused both to provide the six-digit PIN for a new iPhone which was seized from him, and to answer police questions about the exact nature of his criminal role.

He later admitted being concerned in the production of cannabis on the basis that he was involved in the disposal and destruction of the remains of a commercial cannabis grow.

Carlisle Crown Court heard this morning that Cepele, previously of Wood Green, London, had entered the UK illegally, and was now hoping for a return to his native Albania. He was, said his barrister, “truly remorseful” for what he had done.

Judge Nicholas Barker imposed a nine-month prison term. “You were fully aware of the scale of this operation,” Judge Barker told Cepele, “given the value of the cannabis that was recovered, and the number of bags.”