Drakelow Tunnels cannabis factory: Father jailed for drug production

Jason Whiley had denied growing more than 800 cannabis plants in a section of the sprawling Drakelow Tunnels between Kinver and Kidderminster.

But a jury found him guilty of being concerned in the production of cannabis with a street value of about £650,000 in October.

Yesterday, Whiley was given a jail sentence of two-and-a-half years at Hereford Crown Court.

Whiley, of Thorns Avenue, Brierley Hill, had claimed he had been employed as a labourer by a friend to clear rubbish and debris from the tunnels, which cost about £1 million to build when they were first opened during the early 1940s.

The 41-year-old had denied the charges after he was arrested by police who raided a section of the tunnels, which in total cover about 250,000 sq ft and spans three-and-a-half miles between Kidderminster and Kinver, in November 2013.

Whiley had claimed he had been asked to clear out the tunnel in March of the same year by a friend – who he had refused to name – and had spent seven or eight days removing breeze blocks and other detritus.

But he said he had no involvement in cultivating the hundreds of cannabis plants that were uncovered by police at various stages of growth following the raid.

Police, who said it would have cost several thousands of pounds to purchase all of the equipment, had forced their way into the tunnels through a fortified metal door.

They then discovered another door before finding the area split into different rooms where the plants were growing.

The plants in the main room were found under specialist lighting on timers to ensure the plants had the right amount of light and dark. It was there they uncovered 564mature cannabis plants in a main growing room at the section of tunnels, which were formerly used as a top secret underground military complex beneath Kingsford Country Park in Worcestershire.

A further 321 immature non-flowering plants had been discovered split across two further rooms at the complex, which had operated under complete secracy until the end of the Cold War in 1990 before being decommissioned and sold. Whiley's fingerprints had been found on plastic sheeting and equipment by police during the raid.

He had admitted seeing plant pots, compost bags and other implements in a section of the tunnels, which had once formed a national network of highly classified nuclear bunkers during the 1960s, but did not equate that to the start of a cannabis growing operation.

Whiley had said it wasn't his 'business to know' what the equipment was being used for but Mr Timothy Sapwell, prosecuting, had previously told the court in Worcester that Whiley had watered the cannabis plants and set up woodwork inside the tunnels.

A statement by Detective Constable Martin Guest, who had been among the officers involved in the raid, had also been read out during the trial.

Dc Guest's statement said in the main room lighting had been supplied by more than 80 high powered lamps connected to 12-hour timers so the plants had equal amounts of light and dark.

"In my opinion all of the plants could have reached maturity and were being grown in an ideal artificial environment," he said.

"This was for commercial purposes and was a major production set-up. It would have cost several thousands of pounds to purchase all of the equipment."

Today, the tunnels are looked after by a trust, which hopes to restore the complex back to its operational condition.