Video report: Cannabis factory raid in Newbury

Police have seized large amounts of cannabis following a raid in an upmarket area of Newbury today (Monday)

A CANNABIS factory containing around 1,000 plants has been uncovered following a daylight police raid on a property in an affluent area of Newbury today (Monday).

Officers stormed a home in Chiltern Close, Wash Common, at 7.50am this morning following short surveillance of the property, and upon entry were greeted with a much greater haul than anticipated.

It is not known how much the street value of the seized contraband amounts to, however a similar raid at a house in Faraday Road in 2008 uncovered 700 plants thought to have been worth around £300,000.

Pc Kieran Baker led the operation, and he said it was huge victory for police to nab such a significant amount of drugs.

“It will hit the pockets of everybody along the chain, and to take a cannabis factory of this size out of the area is a big thing,” he said.

“This has been a pet project of mine so I am very pleased, and it is great for us all that we have been able to close it down and get the drugs off the streets of Newbury.”

“It's quite an expensive property. Our first estimates put it at around 700 plants. It's too early to tell the street value at this time but it would appear to be a very large operation.”

Air surveillance and gathered intelligence over a short period of time led officers to believe they had uncovered a cannabis factory in the quiet area of Newbury.

They were granted a warrant, and a team of officers executed a textbook dynamic raid.

Despite attempts to mask the smell of the plants with garlic, vinegar, oranges and citrus hung around the property, the putrid smell of fertiliser combined with the strong aroma of the cannabis was powerful once inside.

The inside of the property showed extensive damage, as three large rooms had been turned into grow-houses, with the entire first floor given to cultivating teenage plants of various sizes, some nearing harvest.

The only areas of the house not given to cultivating cannabis were a room which a single occupant lived in, and a bathroom, which contained large amounts of fertiliser and other chemicals.

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of producing a controlled class B drug, and is currently being held in police custody.

To see a video interview with Pc Kieran Baker and footage from the scene, click on the link above.