THESE are the first amazing pictures of a secret cannabis factory — hidden UNDER a filthy portable cabin.
They reveal how the subterranean chamber — made of metal shipping containers sunk into the ground — was crammed with illegal plants capable of generating MILLIONS of pounds for drug barons.
It was busted last year by cops who had kept the site in Irvine, Ayrshire, under surveillance after a tip-off. The images were finally released after the criminal masterminds behind the ingenious dope factory were yesterday sentenced at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.
Gerald McKenna, 60, and Stewart Allison, 54, were sent to jail while Samuel Strachan, 52 — described as “the watchman” — got off with community service.
A fourth man, Roy Dunstance, 58, was cleared of the farm plot at an earlier hearing but fined £350 for possessing cannabis.
Veteran gangster Dunstance was once one of Scotland’s most wanted criminals in Spain.
Drugs expert Detective Sergeant Michael Miller, who was the first cop to check out the factory, said: “As far as I am aware, this is the first underground cannabis cultivation in Scotland.
“I have been doing this job for 22 years and have never seen anything like this.
“A serious amount of time, effort and experience went into this venture, from placing the containers in the ground to the electrical system. It was there to make money.
“It was like something out of The Great Escape with an elaborate underground network similar to the one in the film — but they all got caught in the end.”
The Scottish Sun was given exclusive access to a 40-minute video taken by DS Miller as he walked through the site.
He is seen applying pressure to a piece of soft ground with his foot and when he digs down a little into the earth, it exposes the metal roof of the factory.
A short distance away lies a pile of leaves and other debris — used to mask the factory’s massive heat source from police helicopter infra-red cameras.
A hatch on the floor concealed what turned out to be an ultra-sophisticated cannabis cultivation.
A set of sturdy, dark grey metal ladders led down into the factory.
A total of 350 plants were crammed into one of four sunken containers.
They were blasted by powerful UV lamps which mimic the sun to encourage growth.
The operation was designed to grow a crop every three months rather than the average once a year. Another container acted as a nursery for fresh cuttings.
The cavern was raided on June 16 last year by Strathclyde Police’s Major Crimes and Terrorist Investigation Unit.
McKenna, Allison and Strachan later admitted producing cannabis from the plants which were valued at £150,000.
But after the raid, a source said: “It is suggested you can get one harvest every six or so weeks, which would bring in £100,000.
“If you are pulling in that kind of money, then it is not going to take too long to clock up a million quid.”
It was revealed during yesterday’s court hearing how grandfather-of-five McKenna, of Scotstoun, Glasgow, had been the “head gardener”.
His lawyer Murray Macara said: “His role was effectively that of a gardener giving advice.
“He got involved because he had an interest in cannabis. There was a financial interest too but he was taking cannabis for effective pain relief.”
Allison, of Duntocher, Dunbartonshire, was described as the “assistant” gardener.
Strachan, of Knightswood, Glasgow, was dubbed the “watchman” who looked after security for “one day only”, according to his solicitor Andrew Lambie.
Sheriff Seith Ireland jailed McKenna for 45 months while Allison was ordered to serve 26 months behind bars.
Strachan, who has learning difficulties, was hit with a community payback order and 210 hours of unpaid work.
Sheriff Ireland said: “This was a sophisticated operation at industrial scale. It involved the construction of underground chambers to grow cannabis with potentially high yields of illegal profits.”
And he told McKenna: “You played a major — but not pinnacle — role in the production.”
