The latest figures from the Home Office report that in 2008-9, 65 tonnes of cannabis was seized (herbal and resin), as well as 643,296 cannabis plants. This compares with 38 tonnes of cannabis and 535,055 cannabis plants seized in 2007/08. Police raid around 3,000 cannabis factories in the UK each year, seizing plants worth £60m.
Of course no landlord welcomes a wannabe drug baron into their premises, but the trouble is they can be difficult to spot – often looking prosperous and having a convincing story about why they want to rent the property. Warning signs often include a willingness to part with large amounts of cash up front. Many offer to pay a few months’ rent in advance rather than the standard payment of one month’s deposit and one month’s rent. Cash, of course, provides no clues to identity, unlike a credit card or bank transfer.
There may also be lack of clarity over references or contact information that doesn’t stack up – a telephone number that doesn’t match an address or a mobile phone that fails to work.
When landlords are offered a large amount of cash, they can be tempted not to follow vetting procedures so thoroughly. The situation is made worse if they fail to keep a close eye on the property – which, ideally should be inspected on a six monthly basis. Even for those who do carry out frequent inspections, factories can be difficult to spot as the alterations may be not be evident from the outside.
IT’S A DIFFERENT STORY INSIDE
Properties have to be modified to speed the growth of the plant, which thrives in hot humid conditions. Often tenants will rewire the mains electricity to bypass the meter so that powerful lamps can be kept on all the time without causing suspicion. Holes will be drilled in the ceiling for ventilation, walls damaged by irrigation systems. Leaks from these systems, as well as the large amount of condensation, can cause structural damage to the building.
Often, front doors and windows may be wired into the mains electricity supply so that visitors are deterred with an electric shock. Rewiring and the high-powered lamps can create a fire hazard and sometimes it is a fire that causes the property to be discovered, or the fact that lights seem to be left on all the time.
In the cold weather earlier this year, some landlords became suspicious when a casual drive-by showed that snow and ice had melted from the roof of their property, but not from neighbours – indicating the considerable heat generated inside.
WHAT CAN LANDLORDS DO TO AVOID BECOMING THE VICTIM OF CRIME?
Every kind of landlord has been affected – from owners of a second homes, to breweries with empty pubs, farmers who want to make some money from disused outbuildings and even commercial landlords, keen to avoid the burden of business rates on empty properties.
All have been keen to find tenants at a time when business is depressed and enquiry rates are down. These are just the kind of market conditions that encourage landlords, particularly those new to the market, to cut corners in order to get the tenants in and make some money.
People can protect themselves by using managing agents to vet tenants. While some landlords might be tempted to cut out the agent when times are hard, this can increase the attractiveness of the property to would-be criminals who believe it will be easier to get in without arousing suspicion. Frequent checks – particularly in the first few months when changes will be made – are also vital.
When thousands of pounds can be made within the three months required to grow a crop, the attractions are obvious. This means that new and experienced landlords and their agents need to be on their guard as the continuing recession and rising unemployment encourage even more criminal activity.
With thanks to Ben Waterton, managing partner of Lockton Bristol, an insurance broker. www.lockton.com
SIGNS OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITY:
• Windows permanently covered from the inside
• Visits to the addresses will not match normal residents’ patterns
• Offenders may call daily or weekly but only for short periods
• Removal of quantities of black bags
• Compost bags and other gardening equipment in the garden close to the back door
• A pungent smell emanating from the property
• A vent protruding from the roof tiles may be visible
REPORTS FROM AROUND THE UK
Hull, Yorkshire, June 2010
A Vietnamese drugs gang was sentenced to a total of 20 years for running a £750,000 cannabis racket, growing plants in 26 rented houses in respectable areas of Hull and Cottingham. Ringleader Tuan Nguyen, 26, rented out properties to illegal immigrants who were moved into the network of drug growing houses and worked as ‘gardeners’ to cultivate cannabis plants. Each property was stripped out and equipped with expensive equipment, including ventilation and lighting, which was powered through modifications to the houses’ electrics.
Members of the gang were caught by Operation Dill, an investigation by Humberside Police’s Major Crime Unit. All the ‘gardeners’ were recommended for deportation.
Welwyn, Hertfordshire, June 2010
A Welwyn Garden City home owner was amazed when police unearthed a cannabis factory with more than 1,000 plants at his house while he was living abroad. Police investigating a report of a strong smell of cannabis from road workers on the A1(M) found a “hydroponics cannabis factory” in outbuildings. Heatgiving lights were powered by electricity from cables connected to the main house.
Telford, Shropshire, June 2010
£200,000 worth of cannabis plants were discovered at rented house in Hadley, Telford. Detectives said they hadn’t been able to trace the tenant since the 200 plants were discovered after they received reports of a burglary at the house. When they arrived there was no burglary but they discovered the cannabis being grown.
Detective Constable Dean King, of Telford CID, said, “After speaking to the landlord we found that the tenant, Mark Bizeray was paying rent to him and had made payments around May 1, the drugs were discovered on May 9. We want to speak to Mr Bizeray as a matter of urgency in connection with this case. He was the last known tenant who was paying rent at this house so he is an important person of interest. This incident involved a seizure of a substantial amount of drugs which has made a difference to the drugs supply on the streets of Telford.”
Thanet, Kent, June 2010
Two cannabis factories were uncovered in Thanet in less than a week, with police confiscating more than £320,000 worth of the illegal drug.
The larger of the two finds was in a disused furniture shop on Margate High Street. 800 plants at various stages of growth had been found by the owner on the third floor of the rented shop. Each plant is estimated to have a street value of around £400, bringing the value to an estimated £320,000. The owner said he became suspicious when he found the locks had been changed at the shop.
The massive haul came less than a week after a 23-year-old man from Ramsgate was also arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis after officers found five plants at a house. Two months earlier 500 plants worth around £200,000 were found in a police raid on an industrial unit.
Rochester, Kent, June 2010
Police searching a property in Rochester after a tip off from neighbours found more than 420 plants in two upstairs rooms and are estimated to have a street value of around £10,000. Detective Inspector Eddie Fox from Kent Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: “The action was the result of the local community coming forward to Kent Police with information about suspected drug activity. I would like landlords to think carefully about who they let their properties to. Cannabis factories cause a lot of damage to a property as well as the risk they pose when electricity is tampered with.”
Earlswood, Surrey, June 2010
A cannabis factory in a semi detached house was discovered in Earlswood when the landlord of the rented property notified Surrey Police after making an impromptu visit. All four bedrooms were found to have cannabis plants growing in them.
Detective Constable Simon Quinn said, “Those behind this cannabis factory completely transformed a large semidetached family house into a full hydroponics set-up producing cannabis plants in various stages of growth.” The raid was part of Operation Guadalupe, which was set up in response to rising concerns from the 
community over levels of illegal drug use.
Elstow, Bedfordshire, June 2010
A cannabis factory was uncovered in a rented house in Elstow. PC Andy Sharman said officers were clearing out the property where they had discovered more than 250 cannabis plants growing upstairs. “Not everything gets thrown away – the planters we’ve recovered will be going to the local allotment association for them to recycle.”
The bust was the fourth cannabis factory in as many weeks, and the cannabis plants were said to be worth up to £20,000. “This was a very sophisticated operation.
The ‘gardeners’ made the house appear as normal as possible to minimise suspicion, and any rented property could hide a similar cannabis factory. Our message is that landlords should be careful who they rent property to.
“It’s always better to rent through an agent who can keep an eye on the property particularly if the landlord doesn’t live near the property they are renting out.
“Those growing these plants will steal electricity, wreck the house and then just disappear leaving the landlord to pick up the repair bills.
“To turn the house into an indoor greenhouse they have to move a great deal of equipment, lights, fans and hydroponics into the property. They also bring in hundreds of pot planters and a lot of compost.”
Accrington, Lancashire, July 2010
A sophisticated cannabis factory holding £200,000 worth of plants may never have been discovered without reports of a break-in, say police. Officers were called to investigate a burglary after neighbours reported hearing suspicious noises. Officers found upstairs rooms, including the loft space, were filled with around 500 plants, which have an estimated street value of £200,000, along with lighting and heating equipment.
A 32-year-old Vietnamese man was arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis at the rented property. Police said that neither neighbours or workmen working in close proximity to the house had any idea the large drugs factory, believed to have cultivated the potent ‘skunk’ cannabis strain, had been under their noses.
Electricity meters had been bypassed and a large air ducting extraction system had been installed to prevent the smell from alerting people nearby. Sophisticated hydroponic equipment had also been installed to grow plants in water, without using soil.
One neighbour said, “I am totally shocked as I have quite small children and I never noticed anything out of the ordinary at that house at all.”
Another said, “There haven’t been any noticeable problems at all at that house. The first time I noticed anything unusual was hearing sounds like there was a break in and I called the police.”
Pendle, Lancashire, June 2010
A Chinese illegal immigrant with links to two cannabis farms in Pendle has been jailed for two years and eight months. Yi Zhe told police that Triads had forced her to rent property, but denied knowing anything about the drug being grown at two premises. Preston Crown Court heard that police discovered hundreds of cannabis plants in total. Zhe’s fingerprints were found. Zhe, 35, of no fixed address, had pleaded guilty to two charges of producing cannabis.
Police searched a terraced house, in Brierfield, last September, finding 293 cannabis plants were discovered. Another raid, in Nelson, in December, also revealed a cannabis factory containing a number of plants.
Zhe claimed she had been forced by Triads to rent property, but denied knowing anything about cannabis being grown. She said she had no sense of smell and had been a cleaner at the property.
Trowbridge, Wiltshire, June 2010
A landlord inspecting one of his rented houses uncovered the remains of a drugs factory used to cultivate tens of thousands of pounds worth of cannabis.
The 34 year-old received a call from his father, who had gone to the three-bedroom terraced house in Trowbridge to collect rent. He found the house in darkness, with plastic sheeting on the floors and walls. On the first floor the cannabis factory covered all three bedrooms, but all that remained was the infrastructure, plant stalks and pots of dead plants. He said, “They had such an intricate system. Each room had pipes coming down into them with extractor fans to get rid of the smell. The ventilation was going up the chimney to vent the smell. The police said that with what was in the house, you should be able to smell it down the road.”
Neighbour John Self said, “What amazes me is there was no smell. It must have been a good set up and they must have brought things in gradually, as you can only bring things through the front door.”
Holes were made in the ceiling so wiring for the heat lamps could be fed through. The electrics will all need replacing as the tenants illegally tapped into the mains power supply to run the factory.
Trowbridge Police Sergeant Vicky Smart said, “It looks like they left in a hurry. There was a huge harvest. We took 28 bags of compost, 124 small and 280 large plant pots and 10 bags of dead leaves. We have not seen anything of that size before.”
Northampton, Northamptonshire June 2010
A fire at a rented house in Northampton, which had been caused by an electrical fault, alerted police to a large cannabis factory inside.
Firefighters were called to the house and they contacted police when they discovered four rooms on the upper floor of the property had been given over to the cultivation of cannabis.
“We believe the property had been rented to tenants who set up the plant. No-one was in the property at the time of the fire,” a police spokesman said.
“The factory was powered by a considerable amount of electricity and it has been established that an electrical fault was the cause of the fire.
“An electrical fault in these circumstances can quickly trigger a substantial fire and it is fortunate that the alarm was raised quickly.”
A NATIONAL MENACE
While many people believe that cannabis is harmless, the damage done by farming the drug is extremely detrimental to property. Costs for repair can run into thousands of pounds – and many insurance policies don’t cover this type of malicious damage – check policy wording.
Other cases in June alone included cannabis farming in Leicester, Enfield in London, Dunfermline, Warrington, Hartlepool, Northumbria, Burnley, Bridgeton… practically every county in the UK has a problem with this. It seems that many of the criminal farmers are Vietnamese or Chinese; many ‘gardeners’ are illegal immigrants who have been trafficked and forced into the work.
The police say, “Please be sure to check your managed properties regularly and advise landlords who look after their own properties to do the same. If you suspect anything, contact the police.”
