A GANGSTER caught growing 400 cannabis plants on a Burnham industrial estate has been jailed for more than five years.
Patrick McArdle, 37, was one of three men arrested after a raid on the Springfield Industrial Estate in Springfield Road in November, 2014.
Police found plants worth about £400,000 in the 5,000 sq ft factory.
McArdle was arrested the following day along with London men Donald Lovesey, 52, and Danny Moore, 32, who is still on the run after failing to answer bail.
Lovesey admitted producing cannabis and was jailed for four years in October at Chelmsford Crown Court.
However, McArdle, of no fixed address, was part of a larger criminal network and was jailed for a total of five years and six months at Woolwich Crown Court in February.
The sentence can only now be reported because his co-defendants in a separate drugs trial have also been jailed.
Aiden Lynch, 51, of Devonshire Road, London, was jailed on Friday for five years on one count of conspiracy to produce cannabis and six counts of permitting a premises to be used as a cannabis factory.
Jason Smart, 47, of Gladiator Road, London, was sentenced to three years on one count of conspiracy to produce cannabis and four counts of permitting a premises to be used as a cannabis factory.
The two men, who were estate agents, used seven premises they were managing in London to grow cannabis valued at £2m.
The pair enlisted McArdle to handle the technical aspects of growing the class B drug.
All three men were found guilty after a trial.
McArdle was jailed for two years and six months for producing cannabis at the Essex farm and three years for conspiracy to produce cannabis at the London addresses.
Detective Constable Kirsty Marchi, of Lewisham police, said the investigation had been “long and complex”.
She said: "They claimed that they had no knowledge their premises were being used as cannabis factories and it was simply unfortunate.
“Smart roped in McArdle, who he knew was a criminal and could produce the cannabis, whilst Lynch would allow those properties to be let out knowing that they would be used as cannabis factories."
An Essex Police spokesman said he was "pleased" both McArdle and Lovesey had now been jailed.
He said: "We will continue to take a zero tolerance approach to all those involved in the production and supply of illegal drugs and place them before the courts whenever possible."
Jason Smart
Aiden Lynch
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