A MAN has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for his part in the running of a cannabis factory.

The name of Malcolm Campbell, 50, of Greenstead Gardens, Woodford Green, was found on documentation in a cannabis factory on Roman Way in Thetford, Norfolk, during a police raid in December 2009.

He was jailed for an additional 15 months for laundering money from the profits of the factory.

The factory was uncovered after police thermal imaging devices detected large amounts of heat emanating from the units.

Forensic experts who inspected the factory suggested that the plants being grown there could have potentially provided over 70k of cannabis worth over £400,000.

Campbell was one of five people to receive sentences for involvement with the factory at a hearing at Norwich Crown Court Wednesday (September 7).

In December 2010, Campbell pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering totalling £29,640, conspiracy to produce cannabis and abstracting more than £59,000 worth of electricity without authority.

Speaking after the case, DC Simon Stephenson, of King’s Lynn CID, said: “This was a sophisticated production line and a lot of work had gone into setting up a watering system at the address.”

Three other people Phillip Hargreaves, 31, of Axis Way, Eaton Socon, St. Neots, Neil Hargreaves, 32, of Bevington Way, Eynesbury, St. Neots, and Helen Hargreaves, 56, of Axis Way, Eaton Socon, St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, were also jailed.

Suzanne Hargreaves, 30, of Axis Way, Eaton Socon, St. Neots, Cambridgeshire was given a one year prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 200 hours of community work.

Two other Woodford Green residents Maureen Pitts, 52, and Luke Pitts-Campbell, 19, both from Greenstead Gardens, Woodford Green, were charged with money laundering in July 2010, but charges against them were subsequently dropped.

Campbell’s sentences will run concurrently.

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