Drug police find £1.5m haul in council building

Police surrounded the building in Northumberland Avenue yesterday afternoon, where they discovered about 2,800 plants being grown.

The seizure is believed to be the city’s biggest ever haul of cannabis. A spokeswoman for Hull Council confirmed the authority is to launch an investigation into the matter.

The police helicopter was called in as officers guarded the exits and three Vietnamese men, in their late teens and early 20s, were arrested.

Two of the men arrested were seized as they tried to make an escape through fire doors.

Sergeant Mick Stevenson, from the community reassurances team, said: “They have basically converted what is an empty shell and built their own rooms out of wood and plastic; half a dozen on one side and similar on the other.

“The plants were being grown in compost.

“There is thousands of pounds worth of lighting equipment, filters and electrical circuits.”

Sgt Stevenson said none of the men, who had been sleeping in the building on a concrete floor, spoke a word of English.

“They just sat down and that was the end of it,” he said. “I think sometimes they are relieved. They are locked in here and they have got nowhere to go.”

Hull Council confirmed it owned the building and said it had been privately-leased. The practice of leasing vacant council buildings to private businesses is one followed by many local authorities, including Hull.