£100k drug farm in empty Colne house (From Lancashire Telegraph)

£100k drug farm in empty Colne house

12:10pm Thursday 9th July 2009 in

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A HUGE cannabis farm has been found in an empty Colne house.

Police stormed the property in Burnley Road early yesterday morning and discovered between 700 and 800 plants along with cultivation equip-ment including lighting, fans and a generator.

Officers said the plants would be worth around £100,000 on the street and had potential to cultivate drugs worth £1 million a year.

The find, in a mid-terrace house, is just yards from where officers last month found an “elaborate” cannabis factory with 650 plants in a detached house, also in Burnley Road.

The rented property raided yesterday had an elaborate piping system to send the potent smell up through the chimney and into the sky, police said.

However, the house still aroused suspicions and it was raided after tip-offs from nearby residents who saw dozens of people coming and going.

Insp John Fryer, from Colne police, said that although cannabis factories are a “national problem”, East Lancashire is a hotbed.

He said: “Colne has a large supply of cheap rented houses and that is what these people look for.

“We have had two in the past month but I doubt this will be the last one.

“Cannabis cultivation is a serious problem because invariably there will people trafficking involved in it. People come in and are often more or less enslaved to watch over the plants.

“It all links to organised crime and it’s not just someone with plants in their bedroom. The consequences can be dire.”

He urged suspicious residents to contact police. Police are now working to trace the tenants and owner of the property.

In May, police discovered a 250-plant cannabis farm in a £300,000 house in Worsthorne.

And last year, 1,000 plants were found at the Duke of York pub, in Colne Road, Burnley.

Call police on 01282 425001 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.