A man has been jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to manufacturing the Class B drug amphetamine. 

Police caught Slawomir Soban, 34, with a backpack containing a quantity of amphetamine, three large containers of methanol - a chemical used to make it - and two mobile phones.

They then found £4,000 in cash and more mobile phones and methanol at his Hendon home.

He was sentenced at Harrow Crown Court on Friday (October 21) after pleading guilty to the production of a Class B drug at an earlier hearing. 

Soban was arrested after specialist crime officers raided an address in Little Warley, Brentwood, on April 12 this year. 

They discovered a illegal drugs factory where a large amount of drugs and chemicals were located, with a lab estimated to be capable of producing hundreds of kilograms of Class B drugs. 

Officers had also identified a silver Renault Trafic van used to transport items from the location to other addresses.

They located and stopped the vehicle in Lodge Road, Hendon, on the same day as the raid, April 12. 

Soban, one of the occupants, was found in possession of a backpack containing three large containers of methanol, a quantity of amphetamine and two mobile phones. 

Two other men in the van were also arrested on suspicion of drug offences.

This Is Local London: The outside of the manufacturing site discovered by the police in BrentwoodThe outside of the manufacturing site discovered by the police in Brentwood (Image: Met Police) 

Following the arrests, officers searched an address in Lodge Road, where they found substances including acid, methanol and caffeine powder - all used to make the drug. 

Scales, bowls and a hydraulic press were also discovered, plus 1.93 kilograms of amphetamine - worth an estimated £4,000 to £6,000 - in the fridge. 

A consequent search of Soban’s Hendon home address led officers to discover approximately £4,000 in cash, mobile phones and large bottles of methanol. 

Det Ch Insp Glenn Butler said: “I am pleased that Soban is being held accountable for his actions, and that these substances have been removed from the streets of London. 

“The distribution of drugs fuels violence and the associated criminality that accompanies it causes misery to local communities. 

“If dealers try to set up a network in any part of our city, we will work relentlessly to disrupt this, find those responsible and bring them to the courts.  

“The work undertaken as part of this operation, should reinforce this message and serve as a warning to those who continue to involve themselves in this activity.” 

Two men charged with drugs offences were found not guilty at the same trial.