Cannabis worth €370,000 found in growhouse

LESS THAN 100M FROM CAHERSIVEEN COURT

KILLARNEY SUPERINTENDENT Flor Murphy has urged landlords to keep a close eye on their premises following the discovery of an elaborate growhouse less than 100 metres from the courthouse in Cahersiveen.

Approximately 460 plants with an estimated street value of €370,000 were uncovered following the Friday evening search of two adjoining premises on Courthouse Lane. A wall between the property had been broken through to allow internal access and sophisticated electrical and watering systems, plants in varying stages of growth and weighing paraphernalia were uncovered inside.

The find on a quiet, largely nonresidential street bordering the local courthouse, was just a few hundred metres from Cahersiveen Garda Station. No arrests have been made but gardaí have confirmed that the cannabis factory has traits similar to national operations carried out by drugs lords based abroad, including in China.

Superintendent Flor Murphy has urged landlords to be extra vigilant when renting accommodation and asked the public to come forward with any information that may help enquiries.

“These are professional operators and while there may have been some noise initially, they operated under the radar and kept a very low profile, so we would ask landlords to keep a close eye on potential tenants,” he said.

Cahersiveen Sergeant Michael Quirke said that investigations were still at an early stage and house-to-house enquiries were currently being carried out.

“The homes were gutted with every window sealed and hightech lighting and watering systems had been installed. It was very expertly done and there was serious damage, although it was not quite as severe as in other growhouses found across the country,” he added.

Friday evening’s discovery is the latest of several elaborate operations in south west Kerry in recent years with similar finds also in the Sneem and Kells areas. Based on the age of plants and amount of cannabis already harvested, gardaí believe this latest operation had been in existence since January or early February.