Dope Smoke

Police in Lancashire, UK have accidentally discovered a swimming pool packed with cannabis plants worth £800,000. Officers were lost for words when they found the cannabis factory at a large detached house. The raid was launched after a court official told Lancashire police Constabulary he had seen a man fleeing away from the property when he had gone to question the occupants about an unrelated incident.

Offers raided the Tudor-style house on Durton Lane, Preston with search dogs, forensic teams and a police helicopter. They uncovered more than 1,000 cannabis plants ready for harvest with a street value of between £700,000 and £800,000.

The pool outhouse was fully equipped with heaters, infra-red lighting, ventilation and heating equipment all supporting a large crop of cannabis plants.

This raid then led officers to a second property in Fulwood, where they found a large number of cannabis plants being cultivated, although these plants were mainly seedlings.

Officers are now searching for the group of men and women that they believe are renting the Durton Place mansion.

Chief Inspector James Lee said: “I am speechless at the level of this discovery.

“We have had experienced search-trained officers working at the scene and they have never seen a drugs cultivation operation like this in over 20 years.”

He continued: “‘We know that the property on Durton Lane was rented to four people who have been described as oriental in appearance, two men and two women.

“We urgently want to trace them and would urge them to come forward and speak with police.”

A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary said that neighbours had no idea of the drug den.

“They’ve said they thought the noise from the lighting and heating equipment was simply caused by machinery needed to run the swimming pool.”

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