23/08/2007 00:00:00
UK: It's a drugs jungle
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POLICE swooped on a village home to find a jungle of cannabis plants -
and discovered the "gardener" hidden among them.
The estimated street value of the stash is about £60,000.
The Drug Enforcement Priority Offenders Team (Depot) was acting on
intelligence from the community in Linton when they raided the rented
four-bedroom house yesterday in Kingfisher Walk, a quiet cul-de-sac.
They found that almost the entire house had been turned into a
sophisticated cannabis production unit with lights, water pumps and
extractor fans.
Det Sgt Skipworth said: "It was like a jungle in there. Almost every
room had been converted into a growing room. It's the biggest haul I
have seen.
"We had to force entry and found there was a Vietnamese man hiding in
the plants. He was the 'gardener' who was looking after them.
"With all the electric cables, the water pumps, the extractor fans and
plants, extricating the hidden person was extremely difficult."
The man is being questioned and officers are trying to identify the gang
behind the operation.
Plants at all stages of growth were discovered in pots, ranging from 9in
high in a "nursery" to 4ft high.
All four bedrooms, the landing, upstairs bathroom, the loft and half the
downstairs lounge - hidden from view by a false wall - were taken up in
the growing operation. Only the porch, kitchen, the downstairs toilet
and the remainder of the lounge were not in use for drug production.
Scarcely a square foot of floor space was left unused. The fuse box had
been bypassed and banks of sockets were installed to provide power for
the huge electricity demand to grow the plants.
The combination of electric cables, some naked, water pumps and ducts
meant the house was a potential death trap.
Det Sgt Skipworth said: "The potential was there for the place to go up
in flames with the lights, naked cables and water."
Neighbours became suspicious when the curtains were rarely opened and
there were several callers to the house. Police praised their efforts in
helping them to close down the cannabis factory.
Raymond Sexton, who lives in the adjoining house with his wife and
eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old son, said his suspicions were
raised when they had heard a family was moving into the house about six
weeks ago.
But they saw and heard no children and instead heard sounds like that of
a fan and noticed a strong smell.
The 43-year-old chef said: "We saw people coming and going with
equipment and the curtains were never opened.
"We are in the process of moving. I had to go into my loft and a strong
smell was coming through. It was getting stronger and it was affecting
our eyes and throats. And there was the noise of a fan constantly going."
Some of the plants will be used by the forensic team to determine the
yield of the crop.
Officers said landlords renting out houses need to be vigilant that
their properties are not being targeted by drugs gangs looking to grow
cannabis in the most unlikely places.
Det Sgt Skipworth said: "We are constantly on the lookout for rented
properties that may be used for cannabis production. If landlords are
suspicious, they should contact us.
"It is in their interests for us to take these people off their hands.
The deposit will not cover the damage done to a house."
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12807
Author:
Cambridge Evening News via UKCIA
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