A derelict tower block in Birmingham has been raided by police who uncovered a huge cannabis factory covering three floors and 31 rooms.
Officers from the West Midlands force discovered the operation in a block called Warstone Tower on Bromford Drive. Cannabis plants with a projected street value of £500,000 were seized. The building was also found to contain living quarters which were used by the people running the factory.
Power and water supplies were directed to help the operation. Secure doors were also fixed to the building.
An alert to police on January 24th resulted in a drugs raid which saw five men being picked up and arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis.
How such an operation could have been set up in a densely residential area was a concern for local councillors. Police reported that the sophisticated, organised crime operation that has clearly been running for some time, but they were glad to be able to now dismantle it.
The next stage for the police would be to begin working towards establishing the full scale of the operation and making the property safe.
Mattresses, duvets and pillow cases were found in the building, even a box of tomatoes!
Cllr Majid Mahmood was one of many local people who were alarmed by the discovery of a drugs farm on their doorstep, in an area near to shops and a local church and with a high level of footfall.
The councillor suggested that people may have thought that the gang members were demolition contractors, coming and going. However, he could not understand how nobody had noticed the smell coming from the building due to large number of cannabis plants growing inside.
Photo Credits: (CC BY-SA 2.0) by West Midlands Police
