'Cannabis farm' discovered by police
Published 6 Feb 2012 09:30
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A BARRHEAD landlord who became suspicious about "renovations" being carried out by tenants in a home in the town's Springfield Road was shocked when police discovered a "cannabis farm".
But no charges have been brought because the illegal project never became operational and was nipped in the bud before cannabis plants were brought in.
The Barrhead News has been told a check of the premises disclosed clear evidence of the tenants' aim to cultivate cannabis on an industrial scale.
The scheme appeared to mirror "farms" run by criminals, including Chinese Triad gangs, across Central Scotland.
A source said: "The landlord changed the locks, and amazingly the tenants, who had been absent, came back saying they still wanted the property - possibly even to buy.
"The place was definitely rigged with the paraphernalia needed for a cannabis farm, including the large electric lamps that are needed to provide the heat for the plants to grow."
Small scale domestic attempts to grow cannabis plants are regularly discovered during police operations in Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire - but the number of plants is generally small and the efforts usually geared towards self-supply or very limited distribution.
But the Springfield Road would-be farm is reckoned to have been a more serious operation, on the scale that suggests organised criminal activity aimed at supplying large quantities of illegal drugs for sale at highly profitable margins.
The discovery of the embryo "farm" follows on from a council warning alerting landlords to the telltale signs of criminal cannabis cultivation.
Operators frequently rent properties for lengthy periods in order to turn flats into cultivation units.
Warning signs include blacked-out windows to hide illegal activity, a pungent smell from the plants, and odd comings and goings at different hours of the day and night.
Powerful lights can be left switched on almost permanently, and the tenants may only visit the property for maintenance checks.
There may also be regular noise from the premises created by drying fans, and "gardening" material - for example bags of the sort used for fertisiler - might be stored in a shed or at the back of the building.
Meanwhile the criminals involved typically bypass the main electricity supply to gain power, racking up massive amounts of stolen electricity.
Because of the risky methods used there's a major risk of fire - some "farms" are only discovered as a by-product of a building burning down - potentially costing the owner tens of thousands of pounds.
This article appeared in Barrhead News 03 Feb 12
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