Two men have pleaded guilty to being behind a million-pound cannabis farm hidden inside a former Peterhead nightclub.
Iraldo Sarasellil and Ronaldo Abazi, both 26, appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court today and admitted growing and supplying the drug from their Queen Street base.
Their operation came to light in September last year when police stormed the former Deja Vu nightclub and uncovered hundreds of cannabis plants.
The building was shut down and their drugs – valued at an estimated £1.5 million – were pulled out.
Sentence was deferred on Sarasellil and Abazi until next month.
Sarasellil also pleaded guilty to knowingly entering the UK using an illegal small boat from France in July last year, contrary to the Immigration Act.
Deja Vu pulled its last pint just before Christmas in 2022, but plans were afoot in the summer of last year to bring it back into regular use before the bust of Sarasellil and Abazi.
The Press and Journal reported last month the owner of the property, City Centre Pubs, had “no idea” what was going on in the building after leasing it to tenants under the promise of it reopening but who ended up launching a criminal enterprise instead.
They have now submitted their own plans to bring it back as a nightclub after claiming it cost £15,000 to clean up the mess left behind by the crime gang.
Among uniformed constables, officers in riot gear and police vans swarmed the building at 12.30pm and left about two hours later following the arrest of Sarasellil and Abazi.
Detective Inspector Rory Campbell said the raid underlined the force’s commitment to stamping out organised crime in the north-east.
He said: “Drugs cause misery in our communities and we will use all resources at our disposal to disrupt the drugs trade in Scotland. Information provided by the public is vital in helping us continue to do this.”