Police have this Wednesday afternoon discovered a house crammed full with cannabis plants in Stanmore - possibility one of the largest hauls of marijuana ever found in the borough.
More than 500 plants of varying maturity were found in six of the seven rooms at the detached property in Dennis Lane after officers broke down the door to find it empty.
The house was swelteringly hot because of the huge rows of lamps used to warm the shrubs while ventilation systems had been crudely installed in the ceiling of each room.
Criminals had dangerously bypassed the electricity meter and were using the same amount of power as five average homes.
The striking sweet stench had been disguised with mothballs so well that no-one could not detect the scent from outside.
Amazingly, officers came across between 20 and 30 large square zip bags full to the brim with dried cannabis, taking the value of the drugs in the house to thousands of pounds.
Pc Andy Cox, one of the five officers from Stanmore Park Safer Neighbourhood Team who raided the home, told the Observer: "It's a very large quantity. Each room seems to have a different maturity ranging from 6in to 4 or 5ft. Two of my colleagues from the dogs unit said they had never seen anything like this before.
"It's a fine result, certainly. Combating drugs is one of our ward priorities."
He revealed the police had been tipped off about the house by Harrow Council. Environmental officers called to clear a pile of dumped rubbish in Warren Lane, Stanmore, two weeks ago discovered the remnants of cannabis plants - and paperwork related to the Dennis Lane address.
This led to members of Stanmore Park SNT executing the search under s17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act at 2.30pm today. There have been no arrests.
