Cannabis factory shame of region

Police found 896 factories in the area, a new report showing the scale of the problem shows.

North Yorkshire Police recorded the highest rise in the number of factories found, up 1,200 per cent to 13 last year from just one in 2007/08, although it is much less of a problem in the area than elsewhere.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) also found across the country that the premises used for cannabis cultivation were becoming more varied and included industrial buildings, former pubs, cinemas, nightclubs, hotels, print works and even banks.

Some forces also reported that a small number of factories featured booby traps, including attempts to electrify window frames and door knobs, a home-made device which would detonate a shotgun cartridge and a window criss-crossed with bare wire attached to a standard three-pin plug.

In another instance, an external side gate at a factory was wired direct to the mains so anyone touching the handle or jumping over the gate could have been severely injured or killed.

In South Yorkshire the number of factories has fallen from 140 to 119. The force said operations had taken over a 1m worth of cannabis off the streets and dismantled two major criminal networks responsible for cultivating the drug.

Humberside Police said 54 factories were found in the year 2009/10 and 30 in the year 2008/09.

Acpo lead on cannabis Commander Allan Gibson said the findings came as no surprise and the rise was in part down to an increased focus on the problem by authorities.

"The police response is now stronger and more effective through better coordination and intelligence sharing between forces and other agencies and more covert operations against the operators," he said.

"The level of publicity around cannabis since its reclassification in 2008 has meant

that more members of the community are now reporting any unusual signs of habitation

in buildings and houses,

which is leading to more detections."

Nationally, the largest factory found was in an industrial unit in Haddenham, Cambridgeshire, where more than 7,600 plants were recovered with an estimated yield of 2.5m.

It also found that criminals involved in the cannabis farms were also involved in other crimes such as counter-

feiting currency and DVDs, money laundering, immigration

crime, firearms, blackmail, theft,

prostitution, and people trafficking.

Reports of factories paying protection money to other criminals has also led to gangs arming themselves with machetes, sawn-off shotguns and stun guns, said Acpo

n Two men will appear before Aylesbury Magistrates' Court today after a large-scale cannabis factory containing 2m of the drug was discovered by police.

Officers raided an industrial unit near Westcott, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, and found some 1,000 cannabis plants in 18 shipping containers placed side by side.