Cannabis farm busted as police destroy crop worth around £400,000

Success: Police have destroyed a high value cannabis haul

A CANNABIS factory growing drugs with a value estimated at over £400,000 has been busted by police in Rotherham.

South Yorkshire Police were alerted to reports of a suspicious man outside of a property in Psalters Lane, Ferham.

The man was confronted by a neighbour but made good his escape.

Officers turned up and found the door to the house had been forced open.

Inside an extensive cannabis cultivation was found with more than 400 plants growing in first floor rooms and loft.

Police estimate each plant is worth approximately £1,000, with the total value of the plants thought to be around £412,000.

The electricity inside the house is believed to have been bypassed and the property has since been secured.

The grow has been dismantled and the plants have since been seized and destroyed.

Rotherham Central Neighbourhood Policing Team Inspector John Crapper said:

“Drugs are a scourge on our societies and cannabis farms are often linked to organised crime.

“Cannabis is not a harmless drug. It funds criminality which wreaks misery on our local communities and this needs to stop.

“We urge the public to be vigilant and report any concerns to us and look out for the signs a property is being used to grow drugs.”

Police say signs of property being used for cannabis cultivation include a heavy smell of the plant, windows blacked out and showing excessive condensation.

Letter boxes are often blocked and the properties are often not lived in, so everyday routines like bins being put out are not followed.