Nearly 50 of these mofo's!... cant believe they actually got away with it for so long though...!
This is a waste of weed.......
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4080602.stm
This is a waste of weed.......
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4080602.stm
Police have recovered £8.5m worth of cannabis after investigations by an energy firm into electricity theft led them to 47 illegal drug farms.
British Gas gave police details of properties where electricity was being stolen through by-passing the meter.
London, Nottingham and Merseyside police are among those which have found farms using the information this year.
The company said cannabis farms needed huge amounts of energy so energy theft and drug production were often linked.
A British Gas spokesman said: "The way that these illegal cannabis plants work is by having lights, lots of lights on 24 hours a day.
"This obviously takes an enormous amount of power. These are not just people growing cannabis - they are criminals too."
Raids also took place in the South East of England, West Yorkshire and elsewhere in the UK.
The company estimates it takes about £3,000 a year to power a small-scale cannabis factory and that stolen energy is costing the industry around £340 million a year.
It also said it had uncovered thefts of electricity worth £150,000 since January.
Tell-tale signs
Properties are often identified by tell-tale signs such as bin bags stuck to windows to block out light and permanently closed curtains.
Head of British Gas investigation unit Harry Metcalfe said in many cases those that pinched power were doing it for another reason - to produce drugs.
"Stealing electricity and gas is illegal and it's extremely dangerous, not just for the criminal but also for the other people in the house and their neighbours.
"But the successes we have had so far this year show that we are determined to find the thieves and show that we can."
Seizures up
According to media reports this weekend, there has been an explosion in the home grown market, with a surge in sales of small-scale growing kits and seeds.
Reports said that in the past month, the Metropolitan Police seized more than 10,000 cannabis plants.
And figures out soon are expected to show a doubling in the amount of herbal cannabis seized over the past year.
The dramatic increase comes as the government is considering reclassifying cannabis back to a class B drug, having changed it to a class C drug last year.
British Gas has also set up a hotline for people to report suspected cases of gas or electricity fraud. It is 0800 587 2737.
