Ex-Aspers Casino Turned Cannabis Factory: Man Jailed for 3 Years

_{Northants Police breaking down doors at the former casino.(Image: Northants Police/Youtube)}

A man has been jailed after police discovered more than 7,000 cannabis plants inside a former town centre casino in Northampton.

Mantas Pipiras, 36, of no fixed address, was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court on 13 February after pleading guilty to producing a Class B drug, cannabis. The charge relates to 12 December 2025, according to court records.

Police uncovered the large-scale cannabis grow at the former Aspers casino in Commercial Street on 30 October 2025. Officers forced entry into the building after securing a warrant, acting on intelligence from the local community.

The operation revealed thousands of plants at varying stages of growth spread across several floors of the vacant property.

Northamptonshire Police described it at the time as “one of the biggest cannabis factories in the county’s history”. Officers said the set-up was “very organised”, with doors bricked up and rooms reinforced with steel in an apparent effort to prevent detection.

Pipiras later handed himself in to Northampton’s Neighbourhood Policing Team and was arrested.

Watch the video of the raid here:

Organised Crime Concerns

Following the October raid, Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Nic Davis-Lyons said the scale of the operation pointed to wider criminal involvement.

“Obviously, we’re really pleased to get this amount of drugs off the streets, but there’s another side to it that we need to focus on. A production on this scale involves a lot of organisation, and there will be an organised crime group behind it,” he said.

He added that such operations often involve the exploitation of vulnerable people.

“Quite often, they traffic and exploit people into operations like this, probably under threat of violence, and that’s a side people don’t often see.”

Police previously thanked members of the public for providing the intelligence needed to secure the warrant and dismantle what they described as a significant criminal enterprise.

Sentence and Forfeiture Order

Judge Rebecca Crane sentenced Pipiras to three years and nine months in prison. He was also ordered to pay a £228 surcharge.

The court ordered that the cannabis plants and production equipment be forfeited and destroyed.

Cannabis is classified as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Production can carry a maximum sentence of up to 14 years in prison and an unlimited fine, depending on the scale of the operation and the role of the offender.

The former Aspers casino site had previously operated as part of the UK’s land-based casino sector before closing. Casinos.com reported on the initial police raid in November 2025, detailing how the gaming venue had been converted into an industrial-scale cannabis farm.

The case highlights how disused commercial properties, including former land based casinos and entertainment venues, can become targets for organised crime groups. Police say such operations often pose fire risks due to illegal electricity connections and extensive lighting systems, in addition to fuelling the illegal drugs market.