Three men have pleaded guilty after police uncovered a large-scale cannabis factory in Eastbourne.
Officers were called to a commercial building in Hawthorn Road during the early hours of Sunday, 30 November, following suspicions that cannabis was being grown inside.
Upon entry, police discovered a substantial number of cannabis plants, specialist cultivation equipment, and evidence that the electricity meter had been illegally bypassed to power the operation.
During the search for suspects, two men were detained nearby. A third attempted to flee by climbing onto the building’s roof, but the structure gave way beneath him, causing him to fall through into a separate business below. He was taken to hospital for treatment before being discharged and escorted into custody.
On Monday, December 1, Mikel Luku, 22, Ronaldo Pepa, 23, and Idriz Xhetani, 26 — all of no fixed address — were charged with being concerned in the production of a Class B drug.
Luku and Pepa appeared before Brighton Magistrates’ Court the same day and pleaded guilty. Xhetani appeared the following day, Tuesday, December 2, where he also entered a guilty plea.
All three men have been remanded in custody and are due to be sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on Monday, January 5, 2026.
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