Man charged after £500,000 cannabis factory found in Ringstead

A man has been charged after a huge cannabis factory worth an estimated £500,000 was found in Ringstead yesterday (Tuesday).

Officers forced their way into the property in Denford Road at about 8.20am after a tip-off and initially estimated there were more than 200 plants.

But when they dismantled the sophisticated set-up - found across six bedrooms, a living room and dining room - 501 plants of the class B drug worth about half-a-million pounds were seized.

Fans have been donated to Kettering General Hospital with the compost, bamboo canes, water butt and fertiliser donated to the local allotment society.

Hai Huy Tran, 48, has now been charged with producing a class B drug.

The Vietnamese national, of Sharman Road in Wellingborough, was due to appear before magistrates in Northampton today.

The discovery rounded off an incredible June for our police who have been weeding out the drug farms.

Before yesterday's find they had uncovered and dismantled 10 cannabis factories in two weeks, destroying drugs worth £750,000 that were destined for our streets.

They included raids in Kettering, Irthlingborough, Rushden, Great Oakley, Wellingborough and Great Doddington, with reporters from the Northants Telegraph given exclusive access inside some of the sophisticated set-ups in the north of the county.

Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant Leigh Françoise Goodwin, said: “Firstly, I would like to thank the community who provided us with the vital local intelligence needed to secure and execute this warrant.

“A lot of people may think that the production of cannabis and the selling of drugs is a victimless crime, but what people don’t realise is that the people at the top of the chain will often exploit vulnerable people and put them to work in these factories, using them to make money with no thought for their welfare.

“We will continue to be relentless in tackling the production of illegal drugs and I would urge the community to keep reporting suspicious activity to us. This case yesterday is a prime example of how you and your local police force can work together to tackle the issues affecting your local area.

“Finally my message to those who may think of setting up illegal drug factories in Northamptonshire is this – our direction from our Chief Constable at the moment is that proactive policing is key, and that clear direction is not going to change.

“We will continue to gather intelligence, the community will continue to tell us what they know, we will continue to execute warrants and though it wasn’t your door yesterday, it might be tomorrow.”