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British Police Find 6,000 Cannabis Plants in Abandoned Tire Factory

British police reportedly found thousands of cannabis plants inside an old tire factory this week in what was being described as one of the biggest weed busts of its kind in the region. 

The British newspaper The Independent reported that law enforcement in the otherwise sleepy Lincolnshire village “busted one of their largest ever cannabis factories after discovering 6,000 plants inside an old tyre factory – believed to be worth around £6.5 million.”

“This is one of the largest cannabis grows we have located in Lincolnshire to date and follows the excellent development of intelligence,” said detective inspector Richard Nethercott, as quoted by the Lincolnshire World.

“Cannabis production is far from being harmless: it is often linked to wider, organised criminality which is why tackling the wider issue of drug supply is one of our key priorities. Lincolnshire Police remains determined to crack down on criminal enterprises and remove drugs from circulation.”

According to the BBC, three men “aged 28, 38, and 42, all of no fixed address, were taken into custody following the raid,” and the plants were “removed and destroyed.”

The raid “took place at the property situated behind a countryside village pub at around 8am on Tuesday,” according to The Independent, which said that the property was the location of “the Old Kings Head Tyre Factory in Hubberts Bridge, near Boston.”

Although the raid was remarkable in Lincolnshire, this story falls within a more familiar genre. Chronic NewsThe following is a list of unusual cannabis busts that have been reported from around the world. 

We told you in 2019 about the London 120-year-old Victorian-style theater that hosted a $51million marijuana cultivation operation. 

The authorities there concluded that the grow site existed for about a decade within the walls of the Broadway Theater. It was established in 1897.

A spokesperson for the London police said that “officers were called to an address following reports of a disturbance.” 

“They discovered a large number of cannabis plants along with equipment used in the cultivation of cannabis in an area beneath the residential properties. The cultivation of marijuana was suspected of three people, aged 45 and 47 respectively, as well as a 36 year-old female. They have all been released under investigation,” the spokesperson said at the time.

A few years later, British authorities were again at work, finding an illegal grow operation at Somerset’s 17th century castle.

That same year, in 2021, a massive growhouse was discovered in London’s financial district, which had gone quiet amid the lockdown restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the time, police were alerted to reports about a cannabis-like odor.

“This is the first cannabis factory in the City, no doubt being set up in response to fewer people being out and about during the pandemic who might have noticed any unusual activity,” Andy Spooner, the London detective overseeing the investigation, said at the time. “However, this demonstrates that City of London Police continues to actively police the Square Mile, bearing down on any crime committed here.” 

The English village West Parley was another victim of the same problem last year when they discovered half-a dozen unusual plants in their community garden. 

The marijuana plants were tough to miss, with one local remarking at the time that they were “towering above the bedding plants.”

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