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How a group of Albanians in cooperation with the British raised the drug empire

Politiko 2024-01-12 20:37:48

Jeremy Southgate, a 63-year-old Yorkshire businessman who owned an estate agency, is among those convicted of running an organized drug ring in Hull and East Yorkshire.

Jeremy Southgate, from Brough, even applied for government energy grants - which were then used to isolate cannabis farms. He and three other men were convicted of a range of offenses following an 11-week trial at Hull Crown Court. They were accused of their involvement in using multiple properties to harvest and sell cannabis, making a profit of £2.4m every 11-13 weeks.

A Humberside Police investigation was launched in January 2021 after officers executed a drug abuse warrant at a premises in Anlaby Road and discovered around £74,000 of cannabis along with equipment related to the production of the plant.

After the discovery of this farm and billing, a property agency owned by Southgate and managed by Florjan Kasaj began to attract the attention of officers and surveillance methods were deployed in the organized crime group.

Anderson Estates, based in Newland Avenue, Hull, was being used as a front to run the multi-million dollar empire by the men. Although she never worked as a real estate agent, playing her role, a bunch of stock images and fake property ads appeared in her storefront. Behind the scenes, Southgate was actually buying properties at auction for a pittance and then forged the documents of the ghost tenants.

Once the documents were forged, Florjani then managed the properties and would instruct Dardan Mrishaj and Evris Mrishaj to then manage the construction of the cannabis factories and staff them using illegal immigrants. It was also revealed that Southgate had won government grants to install insulation around each premises, which helped to avoid detection of the cannabis factories.

As part of the investigation, officers executed a warrant at a property at 2021 Huntingdon Road and upon entry, officers discovered a growth of cannabis within multiple rooms. In an attempt to evade arrest, a man fled the scene but was quickly stopped and arrested by officers. He was later accused of cannabis production and money laundering and deported to Albania in 2021.

Following further lines of enquiry, a warrant was also executed at the Pines Hotel in Spring Bank and upon entry, officers discovered cannabis growing within multiple rooms, worth an estimated £307,000. In an attempt to further distance himself from the organized crime group, Southgate began to arrange his affairs, this included forging handwritten rental records, tenancy agreements and IDs, as well as notifying phantom tenant council tax.

As part of the ongoing investigation, officers carried out an additional 14 warrants and searched four other properties and discovered significant quantities of cannabis, cash and grow equipment in Hull.

The properties searched included Southgate's £140,000 boat, Billy Blue, based at Hull Marina. While on board the ship, officers recovered £50,849.39. A further search of his home and another property revealed a further £324,375.40 in cash and fake IDs. Ervis Mrishaj, 25, was charged with two counts and found guilty of both. Florjan Kasaj, 41, of Buckingham Street, Hull was charged with drug production and money laundering and pleaded guilty. Dardan Mrishaj, 37, was found guilty of two charges. The men will return to Hull Crown Court for sentencing later this year.