Two men arrested after large cannabis farm recovered in Wavertree

Two men have been arrested after a large-scale cannabis farm was recovered yesterday, Monday 18 December, in Wavertree.

At around 8pm officers were at a building on Smithdown Road following a report of a gas leak with MFRS and Cadent Gas present to make it safe.

Up on entering the flat officers discovered nearly 2,500 cannabis plants in various stages of growth in eight rooms along with growing equipment.

Two men, aged 46 and 39 years, were arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis, abstracting electricity without authority and illegal entry into the UK. They are still in police custody.

Scottish Power attended and made the electrics safe.

The premises was made safe by our Cannabis Dismantling Team and our enquiries are ongoing.

Matt Brown, who leads the Cannabis Dismantling Team, said: “This is a significant hoard of cannabis that has been seized by our officers so shutting this one down is making the neighbourhood a safer place to live and preventing the drugs flooding our streets.

“Cannabis farms are a real danger to residents in the area, especially when criminals extract electricity illegally by tinkering with the wiring and overloading plugs. This puts the lives of those living nearby in danger of fire and flooding.

“Organised crime is hugely damaging to our communities, often involving intimidation, violence and creating fear where criminals involved have no thought for anyone other than themselves.

“If you spot any signs that cannabis is being grown near where you live and work please let us know so that we can continue to take action. Any information helps residents and the work we do, so make us aware and we will investigate.”

A video in which Matt Brown, head of our Cannabis Dismantling Team explains how you can spot signs of cannabis being grown near where you live can be found here - https://youtu.be/rc59i2dsZHM

Some of the signs that cannabis is being grown are:

- Strange smells and sounds

- Frequent and varied visitors to a property, often at unusual times

- Gardening equipment being taken into a property, such as plant pots, fertiliser, fans and industrial lighting

- Windows are sealed and covered or the curtains are permanently closed

- Heat from an adjoining property

- Birds gathering on a roof in cold weather

Individually these activities may seem commonplace, however, together may indicate something more suspicious

Anyone with information on suspected drug production or criminal activity in their community can contact @MerPolCC, call 101 or come forward anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.