Police were kept busy counting cannabis plants found after a ‘visit’ to Shelford Bottom near Cambridge. Acting on a tip-off Cambridgeshire police found 1,375 cannabis plants which they estimate could be worth more than £1.1 million.
The plants were seized. Police said they found the plants inside two outbuildings off Babraham Road, Shelford Bottom, on Tuesday; the plants were of varying sizes.
One man aged 37 from Shelford Bottom was arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis. He has since been bailed to return to a police station in December.
Sergeant Amanda Rossiter, from the Neighbourhood Support Team, said: “Thanks to information from the community, this illegal drug will no longer reach the streets.
“With the help of local residents, we will continue to tackle and dismantle cannabis factories and make clear to criminal groups that our county is a hostile environment for them in which their trade is neither welcome nor tolerated.
There are key signs to spot a property that could be being used as a cannabis factory:
Frequent visitors to a property at unsocial hours throughout the day and night
Blacked out windows or condensation on the windows, even when it is not cold outside
Bright lights in rooms throughout the night
Electricity meters being tampered with/altered and new cabling, sometimes leading to street lighting. High electricity bills can also be an indicator
A powerful, distinctive, sweet, sticky aroma and noise from fans
Lots of work or deliveries of equipment to an address, particularly those associated with growing plants indoors without soil such as heaters and lighting
An excessive amount of plant pots, chemicals, fertilisers, and compost
Anyone with information about a potential cannabis factory or drug dealing can contact police online www.cambs.police.uk or call 101.
People can also contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111
