A receipt for 15 cans of aerosol, seven pairs of scissors and seven candles put police on the trail of two cannabis growers.

The receipt also included two 2p ‘bags for life’ but Cambridgeshire police already had their suspicions aroused.

“We followed a trail that started with the receipt for a stash of air fresheners,” said a police spokesperson.

The investigation stopped Paqsor Omuzi, 25, and Petrit Markaj, 26, in a Vauxhall Insignia at Fengate, Peterborough, at about 7.15pm on February 26.

Omuzi, who was driving, admitted not having a licence or insurance and the vehicle was seized.

When police searched the car, their suspicions were aroused when they found the receipt for air fresheners and a missed parcel card for a house in Vicarage Farm Road, Peterborough.

Things got worse for both men were questioned about £800 they had in cash and, with no work record, were unable to account for it.

Also found in the house were identification cards in three different names that appeared to picture Omuzi.

When a phone seized from Markaj was analysed it led police to another house in Molyneux Square, Hampton.

Inside, they found 68 cannabis plants worth up to £57,000 and two large bags of the drug worth up to £10,000.

Fingerprints taken from the pair linked them to another cannabis factory that had been found in Grange Avenue, Peterborough in October last year, with 71 plants worth up to £59,640 inside.

Markaj, of no known address, admitted abstracting electricity without authority and two counts of producing cannabis.

Omuzi, of Aubrey Road, London, admitted driving without a licence or insurance, producing cannabis and possessing documents with improper intention.

On September 1 at Cambridge Crown Court Markaj was jailed for two years and six months.

Omuzi was jailed for two years and disqualified from driving for six months.

PC Edyta Nightingale said: “This was a complicated trail that started with a routine stop and ended with thousands of pounds worth of drugs being taken off the streets.

“Drug dealing and production cause considerable concern for our communities and are often associated with other crimes such as anti-social behaviour and violence.

“We’re working hard to bring those involved in production or dealing before the courts so they can face justice.”