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£700,000 worth of cannabis plants seized after ‘accidental’ Wisbech pylon fire
306 plants worth £257,000 were growing inside lorry trailers
Nearly £700,000 worth of cannabis plants have been seized by police in Wisbech – and it all started with an ‘accidental’ fire. Police began an investigation after fire crews tackled a blaze last Thursday (August 22) after an electricity pylon burst into flames.
Crews from March and Wisbech were called to the fire in Oldfield Lane which had spread to nearby hedging, trees, tyres and rubbish at a neighbouring scrapyard, and a garage.
An electricity pylon in Oldfield Lane Wisbech caught fire after being used to illegally abstract power to run a cannabis factory in a neighbouring scrapyard. A second cannabis factory elsewhere was discovered. PHOTO: Policing Fenland/Cambs Fire and Rescue
But suspicions were aroused, and Cambridgeshire police has revealed that the fire was anything but accidental.
“Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service dealt with the blaze which was thought to have started because of an electrical fire but it looked like someone may have been abstracting electricity,” said a statement on Policing Fenland Facebook page.
An electricity pylon in Oldfield Lane Wisbech caught fire after being used to illegally abstract power to run a cannabis factory in a neighbouring scrapyard. A second cannabis factory elsewhere was discovered. PHOTO: Policing Fenland/Cambs Fire and Rescue
“Our neighbourhood officers did some digging and discovered a cannabis factory within the scrap yard, seizing 306 plants worth up to about £257,000 which were growing inside lorry trailers.”
The statement added: “Later the same afternoon we received information about a potential cannabis factory in Mount Pleasant Road, so we made our way over to check it out.
“The suspicions were right and across three floors within a warehouse we found another grow, but this time worth up about £430,000!
An electricity pylon in Oldfield Lane Wisbech caught fire after being used to illegally abstract power to run a cannabis factory in a neighbouring scrapyard. A second cannabis factory elsewhere was discovered. PHOTO: Policing Fenland/Cambs Fire and Rescue
An electricity pylon in Oldfield Lane Wisbech caught fire after being used to illegally abstract power to run a cannabis factory in a neighbouring scrapyard. A second cannabis factory elsewhere was discovered. PHOTO: Policing Fenland/Cambs Fire and Rescue
“In the space of 24 hours, we have removed more than £685,000 worth of cannabis from Wisbech and seriously disrupted someone’s ‘businesses’.”
Police confirmed there have been no arrests yet “but investigations are very much ongoing”.
An electricity pylon in Oldfield Lane Wisbech caught fire after being used to illegally abstract power to run a cannabis factory in a neighbouring scrapyard. A second cannabis factory elsewhere was discovered. PHOTO: Policing Fenland/Cambs Fire and Rescue
An electricity pylon in Oldfield Lane Wisbech caught fire after being used to illegally abstract power to run a cannabis factory in a neighbouring scrapyard. A second cannabis factory elsewhere was discovered. PHOTO: Policing Fenland/Cambs Fire and Rescue
If you’ve got information or concerns about drug dealing or production, you can report to police online here https://orlo.uk/UHfk3
