Gang leader jailed for £2m cannabis empire run from sites including derelict Lancashire hotel
A former Lancashire hotel was one of several derelict buildings across the UK turned into cannabis factories by a drugs kingpin who has now been jailed.
Roman Le, 37, originally from Vietnam and living in Birmingham, lived a double life as a Bentley-driving property developer while secretly running a sophisticated drugs empire stretching from Clayton-le-Moors to Birmingham, Coventry and Lincolnshire.
Le was the mastermind behind a network of cannabis farms, many of which were hidden in plain sight behind scaffolding and fake renovations.
One of the key sites was the abandoned Wellington Hotel in Clayton-le-Moors, which was raided by police and found to contain more than 300 cannabis plants.
His gang exploited disused pubs, clubs and hotels - posing as developers while using vulnerable migrants, often smuggled into the country illegally, to tend the grows.
At Birmingham Crown Court, Le was jailed for six years and two months after being convicted of conspiring to produce cannabis.
He had denied any wrongdoing, claiming to be a legitimate businessman.
Judge Dean Kershaw told Le: “This was a large scale industrial operation generating cash and amounts of cannabis.
“It is a drug which has an impact on people and society in general. I am afraid you knew full well what was going on and you chose profit over society.
“I find that you are a thoroughly dishonest person.”
Le operated with two key accomplices - David Qayumi, 36, from Birmingham, and Yihao Feng, 29, from Manchester.
Together, they secured multiple properties across the country, including the Wellington Hotel in Clayton-le-Moors, the former Big Bamboo nightclub in Coventry and the Queens Head pub in Birmingham.
They posed as businessmen and developers to buy or rent these sites, often erecting scaffolding and signs to give the impression of legitimate refurbishment.
In reality, they were setting up industrial-scale cannabis factories using hydroponic systems, illegal electricity bypasses and round-the-clock staffing by migrants.
Many of the workers - mainly Vietnamese and Albanian nationals - are believed to have been trafficked into the UK and forced to work to repay debts to smugglers.
The Wellington Hotel in Lancashire played a role in the investigation.
Police surveillance captured Feng arriving at the site in a Maserati in September 2020.
He was stopped shortly afterward and the following day the hotel was raided.
Officers found a working cannabis farm spread across the property.
On the same day, police also raided the Queens Head pub in Birmingham, seizing more than 300 plants and arresting six Albanian nationals.
Another raid on the Big Bamboo nightclub in Coventry uncovered 1,500 plants with a street value of over £1 million.
Investigators later discovered that some of the buildings, including the Queen’s Head pub, had been purchased by companies linked to Le.
Senior NCA officer Paul Boniface said: “Le claimed to be a legitimate businessman, but in reality he was lining his own pockets off the back of the exploitation of others less fortunate than him.
“Working with policing partners we were able to target and dismantle this organised criminal operation, and those involved are now rightfully behind bars.
“Gangs like this are helping fuel an industry that sees people transported into the UK in life-threatening ways in boats or lorries, which is why taking action against them is so important for the NCA.”
Both Feng and Qayumi admitted their roles in the conspiracy.
Feng was sentenced to three years and two months. Qayumi received three years and four months