Cannabis farms are growing
THE number of cannabis farms being exposed by police has soared, according to new figures.
Officers closed down 814 drug factories last year - compared to just 227 two years ago.
Data released by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) also says that Greater Manchester had the second highest number of cannabis factories found in Britain last year.
Although the greatest number of raids was in the London area, there were more drug busts in Greater Manchester per head of population than almost anywhere else. The force found 32 factories per 100,000 people last year.
Only North Yorkshire recorded a greater rise in the number of factories found, with 42 discovered per 100,000.
The ACPO report says that the surge in drug busts reflects the growing problem of criminal gangs who are using homes and businesses, including abandoned pubs, cinemas and even banks to cultivate the drug.
Police in Greater Manchester have uncovered a number of large-scale growing operations over the past year, several in Wigan, many of which use sophisticated ‘hothouse’ techniques.
Now police bosses are warning that drug gangs are arming themselves with machetes, sawn-off shotguns and stun guns as they face competition and intimidation from rivals.
Police chiefs say this country is producing so much cannabis that ‘there is now a market for exportation’. The report by the national policing body also found that criminals involved in the cannabis farms were also involved in other crime.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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