Family ordered to repay £1m from cannabis factory operation

A Hampshire family who transformed an isolated Carmarthenshire property into a sophisticated £3.5m cannabis factory over five years have been ordered to repay more than £1m in criminal profits.

The operation

Edward and Linda McCann and their son Daniel relocated from Hampshire to a secluded house near Whitland in 2015 specifically to expand their existing cannabis operation. Daniel purchased the Cwmbach property for £385,000 after months of searching for the perfect location with a large barn suitable for commercial-scale production.

The family ran their illicit business undetected until October 2020 when police raided the compound and discovered an “extremely well-organised and sophisticated cannabis manufacturing operation” inside the barn. Officers found six growing rooms equipped with lights and extractor fans, a commercial-size oven, and pressure devices for extracting cannabis oil.

The discovery

The upstairs production area contained 202 plants at various stages of growth, including a large “mother” plant, plus equipment for drying harvested plants. Police also seized approximately 80kg of cannabis product worth up to £1.5m and plants with a potential value of £460,000. The operation was producing herbal cannabis, cannabis oil, and edibles including cannabis-infused chocolate.

Ian Wright, prosecuting, said the family were manufacturing “tinned cannabis” – described as an “emerging trend” in the UK as it kept the drug fresher and increased its longevity. Text messages between the conspirators revealed discussions about supply amounts, earnings, and product quality. In one message, Daniel joked to his mother that she would be like “Edward Scissorhands” from the amount of plant trimming she was doing.

The barn’s power supply had been bypassed with an armoured cable running directly to a nearby electricity pole. A search of the family home uncovered £10,000 in cash divided into £1,000 bundles and a cannabis-infused chocolate bar.

The sentences

Edward McCann, aged 66, Daniel McCann, aged 41, and Linda McCann, aged 63, all of Cwmbach, Whitland, along with local employees Justin James David Liles, aged 35, of St Clears, and Jack Whittock, aged 32, of Llanteg, Narberth, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis between 2015 and 2020, and acquiring criminal property. The father and son also admitted a separate cannabis conspiracy from their Hampshire operation between 2013 and 2015.

Judge Geraint Walters sentenced Edward McCann to seven years and seven months, Daniel McCann to eight years and six months, and Linda McCann to six years and seven months. Whittock received two years and 10 months, whilst Liles was sentenced to 22 months.

The confiscation

At a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Swansea Crown Court on December 11, the court heard the benefit figure for both Edward and Daniel McCann was £1,798,520 each. Linda McCann’s benefit figure was £1,450,505.

During proceedings, an unrepresented Edward McCann claimed the amount of cannabis supplied was “absolutely none”, that the production figures were “scientifically impossible” based on electricity consumption, and that the property was intended for a “data centre” connected to an NHS app he had developed. He also asked when police would return his wife’s stockings and suspenders, which he said officers had seized.

Following negotiation, confiscation orders were made for available assets: £342,160 for Edward McCann, £413,583 for Daniel McCann, and £333,586 for Linda McCann. Each defendant was given three months to pay, with default prison sentences of four years for father and son, and three years for Linda McCann.