Police have raided a huge cannabis farm in Homerton, following a tip-off from neighbours.
More than 500 cannabis plants were found being grown across two floors of an abandoned warehouse in Rosina Street, in what Scotland Yard called a "substantial and sophisticated operation".
Officers from the Homerton Safer Neighbourhoods Team gained entry to the warehouse with the help of the London Fire Brigade on Thursday morning (February 4).
Video footage shared by officers "for context" shows rows upon rows of fully grown plants on just one of the floors alone, with special lights and ventilation pipes hanging off the ceiling, and fans attached to the walls.
Huge two floor cannabis farm found in Homerton (1)
Homerton Police tweeted: "The team with the help of the fire brigade in Hackney found the largest cannabis farm any of us have ever seen.
"Two floors of this abandoned warehouse full of full-grown cannabis plants. The investigation is ongoing."
The plants have now been removed, according to Scotland Yard, and enquiries are ongoing to identify those responsible.
No arrests have been made.
The Met has seen an increase in cannabis factories throughout the pandemic, and last week revealed 72 cannabis farms had been foiled in east London alone during lockdown.
Tell-tale signs they have asked the public to look out for include any property where windows are constantly blacked out or curtains that are never opened. This is because cannabis requires 12-hours of uninterrupted darkness to produce a harvest, while bright lights are required for the other half of the day.
Cannabis farmers need to ventilate the plants, and the low humming sound of large extractor fans which are used to do this, could also give the game away.
A crop of cannabis takes three months to produce, and the pungent smell becomes overpowering during the final month. Frequent comings and goings by the cultivators are also a potential red flag.
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