Paisley Daily Express

£600K HASH FARM RAIDED

Cops discover sophistica­ted setup with 1,000 cannabis plants

- DAVID CAMPBELL

A huge hash farm with an estimated street value of more than £600,000 has been discovered in a Paisley industrial unit.

The sophistica­ted Rowan Street cultivatio­n contained around 1,000 cannabis plants.

Drug squad cops were forced to cut through the roller shutter as they swooped on the site.

Once inside, they discovered the largescale set up.

Specialist forensics cops in white coveralls were spotted scouring the scene yesterday.

A passer by, who asked not to be named, said: “Police tu turned up around 11am.

“There was a big police pr presence here.

“They actually had to cut th through the shutter to get int into the unit.

“I had no idea what was ins inside.”

The hash factory included sophistica­ted lighting and water rigging designed to yield a large crop.

A nearby business owner described seeing lots of police activity throughout the day, with plaincloth­es and uniformed cops at the unit.

Detectives were still carrying out door-to-door enquiries yesterday in and around the area, as well as trawling CCTV, in a bid to establish who was behind the operation.

A Police Scotland spokeswoma­n said the find is part of an ongoing crackdown on dealers in the region.

She said: “Police executed a sheriff’s search warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act on an industrial unit in Rowan Street, Paisley, at around 11am on Tuesday.

“A large-scale cannabis cultivatio­n was found within, with an estimated street value of around £600,000.

“Enquires are ongoing.” She added: “We are determined to disrupt the supply of illegal drugs in Renfrewshi­re and beyond.

“If you have any informatio­n about drug-related activity within your community, please contact police on 101 or Crimestopp­ers, anonymousl­y, on 0800 555 111.”

Two men aged, 48 and 17, have been arrested in connection with drug supply offences and a report has been submitted to the procurator fiscal.

 ??  ?? Cannabis find Police were forced to cut through the shutters to get inside
Cannabis find Police were forced to cut through the shutters to get inside
 ??  ?? At work Forensics officers in Rowan Street
At work Forensics officers in Rowan Street

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