Residents of a council scheme in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, were surprised to find scores of large cannabis plants dumped in a front garden after a police bust. It is claimed that local people were picking through the pile of bags and plants left outside a home on Gala Crescent, taking equipment that could be used for industrial cannabis cultivation.
One witness said “handfuls” of cannabis leaf were left on the pavement, while some of the plants were still actively growing.
Neighbours describe the aftermath
One neighbour who contacted the Daily Record said: “There was a commotion a few weeks ago when the Police Scotland helicopter was up and scouring around, after which vans turned up on the street.
“At the time loads of bags were taken away and we assumed they would be full of active plants and cannabis buds and other evidence.
“Everything went quiet but on Tuesday more workers moved in and emptied the house, just dumping everything on the street.”
The neighbour said he moved “handfuls” of leaves from the pavement into bins and counted scores of large plants, some of which were still growing.
Equipment left in full view
He said: “I don’t know if the plants can be revived but I do know the equipment was left there. As well as all the soil and plant pots, there were containers for chemicals that I assume would be used for the cultivation.
“There was a large ventilation ducting tube which would also be part of an industrial cultivation.
“And I could see people walking past and picking out bits and pieces from the stuff strewn there, presumably to help with their own cultivations.
“It just seems a bit mad that they would leave all this stuff in full view. Kids had to walk past the garden to get to school.”
Operation Kendrew
In September, it was revealed that 36 arrests had been made in the “biggest and most co-ordinated” operation the force has ever carried out to target alleged human trafficking.
Around 300 officers were deployed for the operation on Wednesday and they are understood to have raided 47 properties across Glasgow, Falkirk, Dundee and other locations in the central belt and north-east.
As well as the arrests, 14 cannabis cultivations were discovered by police and “a number of potential trafficking victims” were also found. Police estimated the cultivations were worth around £3 million.
Operation Kendrew is targeting a group said to be mainly run by people from Vietnam, with some members from other south-east Asian countries, operating across the UK. Offences the gang is under investigation for include alleged human trafficking, drug cultivation, fraud, forced labour, immigration crime, and money laundering.
Police Scotland partnered with the National Crime Agency, the Home Office, Immigration Enforcement, HMRC and Vietnamese and other south-east Asian policing forces.
Scores of cannabis farms have been found all over Scotland, with Albanian gangs and Vietnamese commonly running the rackets. It has been estimated that the UK cannabis industry is worth £2.6 billion annually, driven by the takeovers of homes in residential streets.
The factories often steal electricity from the public supply, dangerously bypassing the domestic supply and connecting live wires to boxes on residential streets. Police Scotland have been asked to comment.
