Spy in the Sky Helps to Root Out Cannabis Farms

Source: chesterchronicle.co.uk

Two detached Chester homes raided by police were cannabis factories being run by Chinese illegal immigrants. DAVID HOLMES reports on the battle against drugs which has moved into pleasant suburban streets.

CHESHIRE police are using their spotter plane fitted with thermal imaging cameras to find cannabis factory heat spots.

They pick up a rooftop glow from the heat generated by the powerful lamps used to grow cannabis.

The aircraft is periodically tasked with looking out for such premises and growers have been caught this way in the past.

Such properties stand out particularly at this time of year when most people have their heating turned off. Corroborative information would be required before police could consider mounting an operation.

Cannabis factories can also come to the attention of police because of incidents such as accidental fires caused by tinkering with the mains electricity supply or by strange behaviour reported by neighbours or landlords.

Informants within the criminal fraternity also provide intelligence.

Police say that many cannabis factories are run by illegal immigrants who are “paying back” those who helped them into the country.

Many are said to have shelled out up to £20,000 to enter the UK with debts repaid by working for those who made the arrangements.

They feel beholden to their fixer as they do not have the correct papers, may not speak the language and have no other way of making an income.

However, links in the network are kept deliberately weak and individuals left in the dark about the identities of their contacts so that they are unable to help police if arrested.

A cannabis factory was uncovered in Vicarage Road, Hoole, last year, where mature plants were seized with an estimated street value of about £90,000.

Residents contacted police with concerns about the smell coming from the address where people, believed to be of Chinese origin, were living.

A court warrant giving permission to search the address was obtained within hours.

Plants, growing equipment and drug paraphernalia were among the items seized but nobody was ever caught, although forensic evidence flagged up one individual already known to the police.