Cannabis factory found in Corby cul-de-sac
Drugs potentially worth up to £240,000 were found in a house in Corby this afternoon (Thursday).
Acting on community intelligence police visited a detached home in Lowry Close, near Hazel Leys Academy, at about 1.30pm.
A man escaped through a window and fled across the school playground - and when officers entered the property a "professional" cannabis factory with about 200 plants at various stages of growth were found inside.
PC Colin Gray, from Northamptonshire Police's pro-active team, said: "Undoubtedly this is linked to organised crime due to the way this has been set up.
"The electric supply has been bypassed and there is a sophisticated hydroponics system in place.
"The suspects are audacious. This has been set up in a quiet cul-de-sac in a residential street overlooking a primary school."
Drugs grown on the first floor of the five-bed home had already been harvested for sale, with pots of compost left behind.
On the second floor of the L-shaped building between 200 and 220 plants were still growing.
Rooms had been taped up to keep the heat in to help the plants grow with lights hovering above.
PC Gray said that, over the course of a year, the plants could yield class B drugs with a street value of almost a quarter of a million pounds.
Western Power Distribution will now make the property safe with police expected to remain there into the night to clear the plants.
A forensic team will be working to try and establish the identities of those involved.
No arrests have yet been made.
The find is the latest in a series of cannabis factories discovered in the north of the county this year.
PC Gray said: "We will continue our efforts to crack down on the cultivation, supply and distribution of illegal drugs in Corby that blight people's lives and lead drug users into criminality to fund their habits."
Anyone with information about the cannabis factory should contact police on 101.