Police raid ends in estimated million dollar drug bust

Police seized a cannabis operation holding a potential street value of $1 million after they raided a property in Darraweit Guim last Thursday.

No one was present when police executed the search warrant at the Bolinda-Darraweit Road residence and arrests are yet to be made.

Detective Sergeant Hayley Zagari from the Macedon Ranges Crime Investigation Unit said when they discovered the hydroponic farm, it was growing more than 250 cannabis plants in the property’s shed.

“The plants were somewhat mature, and should they have grown to full maturity, would have had a significant value between $800,000 to $1 million,” Det Sgt Zagari said.

“Without being too specific, I’ll just say that we’ve been investigating over a couple of weeks, and got to the point of obtaining a search warrant pretty quickly.

“The information that led us to this property was a combination of investigative work and also some information from the public.”

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The Express was at the undisclosed residence when authorities removed the plants with a hand-held saw, while forensic scientists completed routine work.

A Powercor representative was also at the scene due to “the presence of an electrical bypass”.

Crime Stoppers website states, “many hydroponic set-ups have been found where growers illegally bypass the electricity meter so they don’t have to pay for the massive amounts of electricity used”.

This is due to the use of lights, dehumidifiers and heaters involved in hydroponic cannabis cultivation, a process that involves growing the plants in nutrient-rich water instead of traditional soil methods.

Criminal enterprises opt for this method due to the faster growth times and higher yields.

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Last Thursday’s raid was also not a foreign occurrence in the Midlands. In 2015, the Macedon Ranges Crime Investigation Unit seized more than 700 hydroponically-grown cannabis plants from a residential shed in Harcourt.

Det Sgt Zagari said her team was aware criminals might find appeal in setting up similar operations across the region.

“I guess in the Macedon Ranges, there’s a risk that the area might be appealing to criminals setting up this sort of system, given that properties in the area are isolated and rural,” she said.

“However, just like in this scenario, should that occur, and when it does, we have ways to identify the presence of cannabis being grown hydroponically.

“When it’s being cultivated on such a large scale, there are often links to organized crime. We’re not suggesting that this one in particular has those links or that we’ve established that at this point, but we do know that can sometimes be the case.

“And again, we always encourage the public, if you see something, say something.”

The investigation remains ongoing.

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