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Search forLandlords get police advice on how to spot a drugs factory
Thursday, October 16, 2008, 13:14
A new booklet gathers together information gleaned from thousands of raids on homes in recent years which have led to large seizures of marijuana plants.
The guide, entitled 'Keeping illegal drugs out of rental properties', notes how organised crime gangs, particularly those involved in drug production, use rented premises in an effort to hide their activities from police.
The guide, written with the assistance of Merseyside and Derbyshire police forces as well as the Association of Chief Police Officers' Drugs Standing Working Group, contains indicators which could show a landlord that synthetic drugs such as amphetamine or ecstasy are being made in hidden laboratories, that cannabis crops are being grown or even that drug-trafficking is being conducted at rental properties.
It reminds managers of properties of the very high price they may end up paying, from the financial cost of repairing damage caused in adapting buildings for drug production to the damage to their reputation with potential property-owners looking elsewhere to rent, as well as dealing with 'hostile tenants' and complaints from neighbours.
One section of the guide notes how the production of amphetamine, known as 'speed' or 'whizz', requires a working space no bigger than a kitchen table.
It identifies such as a strong smell of ammonia, unusual chemicals and their containers littered about, large numbers of empty packets of cold medicine and torn-off striking strips from matchboxes, along with large amounts of powder used to 'cut' or dilute the drug.
For cannabis factories, landlords are warned to look out for blacked-out windows, a sudden jump in electricity bills, excessive strengthening of doors and windows against unwanted entry, unusually high humidity, large ducting tubes and binbags full of vegetable material.
The guide also states how drug-cultivating tenants have a tendency to pay bills upfront in cash, but request you don't visit the premises.
As in a number of cases in Plymouth homes, some drug criminals have employed a 'front couple' or even a 'front family'.
They appear to be 'a genuine, average, respectable couple seeking to rent a property for their own use'.
However, after taking possession of the property they vanish, and are quickly replaced by the drug gang members.
Landlords are urged to take notice of the neighbours' complaints, exchanging phone numbers with immediate neighbours. They are advised to check on their premises every few weeks and alert police if they become suspicious or are unable to enter the building.
One landlord who found a property had been used as a drug factory has had to shed 12 jobs at two other businesses he owns as a result.
Kevin Oliver is owner of the property at Lockington Avenue, Mannamead where the largest cannabis haul to date was found. Due to his resulting losses, 12 posts have been shed at KJR Synergy and Better Life in Callington.
Mr Oliver said the sudden loss of rent and the impending liabilities resulting from the damage to the building, coupled with the difficulty in raising money in the current financial environment, had hit the ability of his companies to continue trading fully, forcing him to make 12 members of staff redundant.
"I obviously had no idea about the cannabis in the property and was shocked to hear about it and the speed with which it had been set up", he told The Herald.
Det Con Mike Bradley, Devon and Cornwall Constabulary's force drugs intelligence Officer (DIO) said he wanted to pass on two main messages to landlords.
"Firstly, if you've got people in your property whom you are suspicious of, don't go there yourself; call the police", he said. "I can't stress that enough.
"Secondly, if you're renting or thinking of renting your property – particularly if you're getting cash in hand – if it seems too good to be true, then it is.
"You need to be satisfied about your tenants", said DC Bradley.
"We're not asking people to discriminate against any group, nationality or gender but at the end of the day, it's your property, your livelihood, and it's worth protecting."
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