Owning your own grow operation can be tough, especially in inclement weather conditions. Typically, it’s traditional outdoor setups that are most afflicted by mother nature. However, there can notable exceptions. Take this recent case, for example, where melted snow on a roof leads to marijuana bust worth over $100,000.
A Conspicuous Roof
Storm Emma continues to wreak havoc amongst the U.K., with some areas expected to see almost two feet of snow. Nonetheless, it was actually a noticeable lack of snow that resulted in one illegal grow operation’s downfall.
On Friday, police shut down a marijuana grow farm worth around £80,000, (or in U.S. terms, $110,000), after noticing the roof had little snow on it.
This was, of course, because of the heat given off by the high powered grow-lights, which melted the majority of the snow on the roof.
According to the Daily Mail, police entered the house after smelling a strong cannabis odor outside of the house, in addition to the noticeable lack of snow.
There, they found about 322 cannabis plants spread throughout all four bedrooms of the house and the cellar.
PC Caroline Foster of the West Yorkshire Police, who was a part of the drug bust, proudly tweeted the department’s findings on her personal Twitter account.
“Whilst the snow has kept the burglars at bay it has also helped us in finding some rather large plants,” Foster said. “Hmmm, I wonder why there is no snow on your roof? 280+ plants seized from an address in Keighley today, some nearly 6ft tall.”
Vicky Watson, who lives directly next to the since-exposed cannabis operation, told the Daily Mail that there were several signs of a marijuana farm.
“In the cold weather my house is normally freezing because the insulation is rubbish, but since they moved in next door my bathroom has been absolutely red hot. The wall was warm to touch,” Watson explained.
“It was suspicious, you could hear fans whirring but no normal sounds of people living there.”
Another anonymous neighbor praised the West Yorkshire Police for their discovery.
“Well done for the police turning out on such a freezing cold day to take those drugs off the streets. Now those cannabis farmers have lost their crop I dread to think how they are going to afford their leccy [electricity] bill.”
Final Hit: Melted Snow on A Roof Leads To Marijuana Bust Worth Over $100,000
Despite police uncovering the large grow operation, no formal arrests have been made, as there was no one in the house at the time of the discovery.
The only lead, if you can call it that, was from Watson, who described her neighbors as ‘Two Eastern European blokes, in their 30s.”
Police continue to evaluate and appraise the plants until further evidence is revealed.
