Crime gang used abandoned hotel for one of their eight cannabis factories

A DRUGS kingpin who ran a network of cannabis factories, including one at an abandoned Hyndburn hotel, is facing a lengthy jail sentence.

- BY JON MACPHERSON

Roman Le was the mastermind behind the operations in residential and commercial properties, as well as a storage facility housing both equipment and harvested cannabis.

The 37-year-old, who hails from Vietnam but is now a British citizen, headed the organised crime gang, which ran eight cannabis factories around the country, generating millions of pounds worth of the illegal drug.

Le sourced the properties by posing as a property developer, buying or renting them. In some cases scaffolding was put up around the buildings, making it look like building work was taking place, to disguise the real use.

Le worked with co-defendants Yihao Feng, 29, and David Qayumi, 36, to source and operate the properties. In Lancashire, they took over the disused Wellington Hotel in Clayton-le-Moors.

Qayumi posed as a businessman, working with Le to buy, rent or sub-let the properties, while Feng acted as an 'operations manager' for the group, making sure the factories kept working and that what was happening inside was kept a secret.