Police Raid Uncovers Four Drug Factories

Four cannabis factories have been shut down in South Wales after a lunchtime drugs bust. Police discovered the four houses had been ripped apart and converted into drugs farms producing thousands of pounds worth of high-quality cannabis.

One Chinese man fled from a property in Bangor Street, Cathays, Cardiff, as it was being raided on Wednesday afternoon. But after a dramatic chase, the 37-year-old was caught, arrested and charged with cultivation of cannabis, abstracting electricity and criminal damage.

Sergeant Richard Weber, from Cathays Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We received information that there were cannabis factories in these premises and as a result warrants were executed. A lot of information has come from the public for which we are very grateful.”

Homes in Bangor Street, Cathays, Tewkesbury Street, Cathays, Inverness Place, Roath, and Whitchurch Road, Cathays, were searched simultaneously by police who had been given keys by the estate agents. All plants, more than 200 in some factories, have been removed for forensic testing.

Landlords and estate agents are once again being warned about the problem, which has increased in South Wales over the past 12 months. Gangs behind these kinds of enterprises go about their business quietly, meaning locals and the landlords have no idea what is happening.

But Bangor Street residents became suspicious of a house in their street. They described seeing people of “Oriental” appearance visiting the house day and night carrying a lot of property in similar size bags.

Last year, the Echo reported how organised gangs, mainly Vietnamese, were renting homes to set up the factories, then employing “gardeners” to tend the plants. Up to £10,000 can be spent on converting houses such as knocking holes in walls for vents, by-passing the electricity supply, and installing irrigation systems.