Main jailed after Scotland’s biggest cannabis cultivation found in Kirkcaldy High Street empty shop

The empty retail store was turned into a massive cannabis factory, with drugs worth up to £6.3million. At the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday, Petrit Gjuraj was sentenced to three years and three months in prison for being concerned in the production of a controlled drug.

The 24-year old was caught after police raiders the premises three years ago.

The sophisticated set-up included a total of 1330 plants over three storeys of the building. Each area had irrigation, industrial heating and lighting units for the plants and there were living quarters for workers.

Detective Sergeant Kayleigh Lewis, Fife CID, said: “Uncovering a cultivation of this scale has a significant impact on the supply of cannabis onto Scotland’s streets.

“I hope that this sentencing sends a clear message to anyone involved in the production and supply of illegal drugs that we will use all resources at our disposal to track you down and ensure you face the consequences.

“Police Scotland remains committed to the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce and the country’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy, and our officers are determined to protect members of the public from this type of criminality.”

WHSmith left town in 2021, and the building has sat empty ever since. It has also been the subject of two fires,.

The first was just a few months after the drugs raid after the boarded up building had been broken into. In June 2023 fire crews were again called to the scene as another fire broke out. It is understood the shop has since been sold at auction, but it remains an empty eyesore on the High Street.