“It’s difficult to envisage a more serious case of production of cannabis”.

A serious organised crime leader, who earned millions by running 12 cannabis factories across the South, has been jailed today.

Mustafa Oustha, 39 of Harewood Drive, Northolt, appeared at Guildford Crown Court today (3 March), where he was sentenced to six years eight months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to produce cannabis and concealing criminal property. Prior to the sentence, the Judge commented that it was “difficult to envisage a more serious case of production of cannabis.”

The sentence follows a large-scale investigation into the rental of 12 industrial units across the South East of England which had been turned into cannabis factories between 2016 and 2021. Following the conclusion of the investigation, the estimated street value of the plants grown was around £6 million. 

Multiple factories, both live and abandoned, were discovered since 2016 across the country, in locations including Hayes, Wokingham and Basingstoke. In February 2021, Surrey Police were notified of a burglary at an industrial unit in Farnham, which turned out to be a large cannabis factory.

Extensive enquiries resulted in Oustha being identified as the main suspect and showed he had been renting the units under five different aliases. He was arrested by Surrey Police on Thursday, 21 October last year following a warrant, which was conducted at his home address in Northolt. Further warrants were also carried out that day by Thames Valley Police in Bicester and Buckinghamshire, leading to the discovery of two further live cannabis factories.

At his home address, officers discovered items which showed the lavish lifestyle Oustha was living. Around £23,700 cash was discovered hidden around the house, as well as 18 high-value watches worth an estimated total of £500,000. Oustha also had two luxury cars and had purchased properties in the UK and abroad.

Delivering the sentence today, the Judge described how Oustha had “led the high life” due to his criminal activity.

Following his arrest, Oustha was interviewed where he admitted to renting out these units but had no knowledge of what they were being used for. He was charged and remanded into custody.

After being charged, a further cannabis factory, which was run by Oustha, was discovered in Aldershot in November 2021.

As part of his sentence, Oustha was also given a Serious Crime Prevention Order, with conditions including not being able to own more than one mobile phone.

PC Kathryn Sandys, who investigated the case, said “Mustafa Oustha really believed he was above the law, orchestrating this huge illegal business to grow cannabis in vast quantities. He made attempts to disguise his identity using false names and fake businesses, before posing as a legitimate businessman seeking to rent out industrial units.

“His activity caused huge financial costs to those he rented these buildings from, with the set up and equipment causing significant damage to each location. Not only this but some of the locations were also burgled, bringing more crime to the area in which the cannabis factories were set up.

“His arrest and charge were as a result of an investigation into the rental of the locations by Oustha, and this goes to show that drugs will not be tolerated in Surrey. We rely on intelligence from the public in tackling criminality and we are committed to taking positive action against drug activity in Surrey.”