Man's body found in street after he was killed for attempting to raid £120k cannabis factory

27.10.2022 - 12:57 / dailyrecord.co.uk

A group of gangsters brutally beat a man to death and dumped his body as a consequence of him breaking into their cannabis factory in an attempt to steal drugs, a court heard.

Tomasz Waga's, 23, body was discovered by a member of the public after he is believed to have been kidnapped and killed by the organised criminal gang, Wales Online reports.

The 23 year old travelled from London to Cardiff on January, 28, 2021 along with a few other men with the intention of stealing cannabis plants worth £120,200 after he caught wind that an Albanian gang were growing them. The cannabis factory was being stored at a house in Newport road and and when the burglars arrived, they were met by the gang who beat them with weapons before they took Mr Waga hostage in a car.

It is believed that a 'gardener' lookout warned the attackers that Mr Waga and his men were closing in on their factory. The court heard that the victim's body was uncovered by a member of the public at around 11pm and he was pronounced dead a short while later.

Gledis Mehalla, Mihal Dhana, Mario Qato, Josif Nushi, and Hysland Aliaj are all on trial at Newport Crown Court and deny murder. Opening the case on Wednesday, prosecutor Greg Bull KC said: "In 2020, an organised criminal gang of Albanian nationals established a commercial cannabis-growing factory in a residential area of Cardiff… It was a well-run, organised, and profitable enterprise.

''It was so successful and profitable that members of the gang were prepared to protect it, if necessary, at all costs. Their determination to protect their valuable crop came to a head just after 10.30pm, on January 28, 2021, when these five defendants, together with others murdered Tomasz Waga, a young man who had the intent