Man arrested after cannabis farm recovered in St Helens
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UPDATE ON MONDAY 27 NOVEMBER:
Mantas Matusevicius, 31 years, of College Street, St Helens has been charged with cultivating cannabis, possession with intent to supply class B drugs and abstracting electricity without authority.
He appeared at Liverpool Magistrates Court on Saturday 25 November and was remanded in custody until his next appearance on 21 December at Liverpool Magistrates Court.
ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASE ON FRIDAY 24 NOVEMBER
A man was arrested after a cannabis farm was discovered at a property in St Helens yesterday, Thursday 23 November.
Officers attended a property on Corporation Street and found around 100 cannabis plants along with older plants in the process of being harvested, and several large bags of cannabis ready for sale.
The electricity meter had been abstracted without authority and Scottish Power have attended and made the electrics safe.
A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis, possession with intent to supply class B drugs and abstracting electricity without authority and remains in police custody.
The premises was made safe by our Cannabis Dismantling Team and our enquiries are ongoing.
Detective Inspector Jimmy Rotheram said: “Officers seized a significant number of cannabis plants a number of large bags of cannabis ready to sell.
“Cannabis farms in neighbourhoods such as this pose a real risk to nearby residents who not only have to put up with the anti-social behaviour associated with this criminality, but also the risk of a fire being ignited from illegally extracting electricity. This shows the occupant has a total disregard of the safety of residents living close by.
“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.