Four members of cannabis crime group jailed

Four members of an organised crime group involved in the large-scale production and supply of cannabis have been jailed for more than 11 years.

The sentence follows an investigation which established the Albanian OCG made more than £500,000 in profit between 2023 and 2025. 

The group was led by two brothers, Sefedin and Eldi Tafa, who sat at the top of the organisation, controlling the grows and sourcing the materials and properties needed. 

Alongside the Tafa brothers was Servet Dobrushi who arranged the sale of the cannabis produced. 

Sitting at the next level were the trusted lieutenants Asterjo Sata and Reols Havalj who oversaw the grows and couriered the cannabis and cash profits around the country. 

The group also used an insurance broker named Simon Jackson, whose responsibility was to set up false car insurance policies which then made the group’s vehicles appear legitimate and allowed the illegal activities to be carried on discreetly. 

A number of people whose role was down the chain - which involved cultivating the grows as 'gardeners' - were identified and have already been dealt with through the courts. 

The operation was dismantled after an investigation was launched when police uncovered a cannabis grow in Aragon Close, Southend, in the early hours of 30 August 2023. 

Inside the property were cannabis plants, a vacuum sealed bag of cannabis, a bag of ground cannabis, £5,000 in cash, a wallet containing a driving licence in the name of Eldi Tafa. 

A notebook with handwritten figures and names was found which included the names ‘Alberti’ ‘Sefi’ and ‘Olsi’. ‘Olsi’ is how the group referred to Havalj.

Fingerprints belonging to Havalj were found on the screen of a phone found in the drawer of bedroom one at the address as well as on the side of a change jar in the same room. 

In total, we found 446 plants inside the address which were healthy, bushy and well looked after. If sold in kilogram deals, the plants were assessed as being worth up to £118,050.

The cash was forensically examined, and the notes were found to have fingerprints belonging to Sata. 

Our serious and organised crime unit were then able to uncover a wider operation, which extended from Southend to Wales. 

Sefedin Tafa was subsequently arrested early in 2024 in Westcliff. The Audi in which he was travelling was searched and Tafa was found to have £1,460 cash with him, and his mobile phone had a video message sent to him showing a walk around of a cannabis cultivation. 

When a search of this house was carried out, we found almost 50g of cannabis bud and £27,720 cash. All were seized. 

Other members of the group were arrested in Caerphilly, Wales, and 10kg of cannabis was seized, with a value of up to £52,000. 

Asterjo Sata was arrested in June 2024 whilst driving a vehicle from Brighton to Southend. When the vehicle was searched, officers found a carrier bag containing £34,320 in cash, a handgun and two phones. 

When we searched his home address, we found many high value items of clothing, a watch and bags were seized along with luxury goods receipts. 

As part of the ongoing investigation, we then executed a warrant in Rochford Avenue, Westcliff. During a search of that property, we found a sophisticated cannabis cultivation across three floors, worth about £35,550. 

In October 2024, insurance broker Simon Jackson was arrested in Brentwood. 

A subsequent search of his home uncovered many expensive items of clothes, trainers and Champagne. More than £3,000 in cash was seized from his home, along with notebooks containing hundreds of handwritten email addresses and figures. 

He was shown to have generated £360,000 in criminal profits from his fraudulent insurance policies.

Eldi Tafa remains outstanding and is in hiding outside of the UK. Work to locate him and bring him to justice is ongoing. 

In total, we’ve seized £71,780 in cash and 78.5kg of cannabis.

Furthermore, documentation showed a further 80kg of cannabis sold generating wholesale profits of more than £500,000.

The group were charged by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and was due to go on trial in December, but each member opted to admit the offences and were sentenced today, Friday 13 February at Basildon Crown Court.

Sefedin Tafa, 33, of Cardigan Avenue, Westcliff, admitted conspiracy to cultivate cannabis and conspiracy to supply cannabis. He was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Asterjo Sata, 22, of Cardigan Avenue, Westcliff, admitted conspiracy to cultivate cannabis, conspiracy to supply cannabis and acquiring or using criminal property. He was jailed for 32 months.

Reols Havalja, 28, of Silverdale Avenue, Westcliff, admitted conspiracy to cultivate cannabis, conspiracy to supply cannabis and acquiring or using criminal property. He was jailed for 23 months and faces deportation proceedings upon his release.

Servet Dobrushi, 34, of St Chads Road, Blacon, Chester, admitted conspiracy to cultivate cannabis, conspiracy to supply cannabis and acquiring or using criminal property. He's been jailed for 27 months.

Simon Jackson, 40, of Cricketers Lane, Herongate, Brentwood, admitted fraud by false representation. He will be sentenced on a date to be set.

Detective Sergeant Steve Robson, of our serious and organised crime unit, said:

“This group operated a sophisticated and widespread operation which had its roots in Southend and reached across the UK.
“This had to be a far-reaching and complex investigation in order to secure every bit of evidence which was available. Ultimately, the strength of the case has led to each member of the group opting to admit their roles and not proceed with a trial.
“The supply of cannabis is inextricably linked to wider organised crime and invariably serious violence. That’s why we work determinedly to disrupt and dismantle all groups involved in drug supply in Essex – and indeed further afield.” 

Giorgina Venturella, Specialist Prosecutor in the CPS’s Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate, said:

“The hard work and dedication of the Crown Prosecution Service and Essex Police have disrupted and stopped the activity of this organised criminal group which was producing and trading in the supply of drugs, which is a blight on the health and wellbeing of communities.  
“Our next steps will be to recover their proceeds of crime to ensure these offenders do not benefit from their criminal conduct. 
“It is vital to disrupting organised crime groups that we ensure offenders do not keep the money or high value items like cars and watches obtained through proceeds of crime.”