Estate and letting agents urged to keep a lookout for cannabis farms
Cannabis farms pose a serious threat to the neighbourhoods where they occur as there is a high risk of fatal fires as electricity meters are often bypassed and overloaded.
Crimestoppers is urging estate and letting agents to keep a lookout for criminal gangs setting up cannabis farms or grow houses in residential or commercial property that they let out.
Cannabis farms pose a serious threat to the neighbourhoods where they occur as there is a high risk of fatal fires as electricity meters are often bypassed and overloaded. Criminals are also posing as labourers, digging up roads to illegally tap into the power supply.
The charity, which is independent of the police, received over 14,000 anonymous reports in 2022 from concerned members of the public about cannabis (main pic) being illegally grown in their community (see map).
And there are key signs that Crimestoppers say estate and letting agents should be looking for when dealing with would-be tenants.
These include poor or no references from a previous letting agent and offering to pay several months in advance with a preference to pay rent in cash without reasonable cause.
RED FLAGS
Other red flags include wanting to keep the utility bills in a landlord’s name; asking for complete privacy, requesting no periodic inspections or preventing the inspection of the property even when given reasonable notice and changing locks to keep landlords and agents away from a property.
Mark Hallas, Chief Executive of Crimestoppers, says: “Gangs rent properties in both urban settings and rural parts of the country.
“Occasionally, some of these buildings – often unwittingly rented to criminals for drug production – can be left completely destroyed.
“We are encouraging the public, including property contractors and landlords, to keep their eyes open and to report any suspicious signs to our charity 100% anonymously.
“We have always kept our promise of anonymity to everyone who contacts us. Call 0800 555 111 at any time or use our anonymous online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org. We cannot trace calls or get IP addresses. Not even we will know your identity when you contact us to pass on vital information.”
