Banning order stops people from entering house used as cannabis factory
Magistrates have banned people from entering a house in the Black Country that was used as a cannabis factory.
Nobody has been charged in relation to the drugs but the closure order gives West Midlands Police the power to arrest people who go into the house on Cheshire Road, Smethwick, over the next three months.
Officers raided the house on October 18 following a tip off and found 153 cannabis plants and growing equipment. The drugs have now been destroyed and the equipment recycled.
The order is an extra layer of protection as police usually cannot stop people from entering homes if they live or work there.
A spokesman for the force said: "Because of dangerous electrics and chemical fertilisers, cannabis factories are a fire risk to neighbouring homes.
"The people who look after the crops inside are often illegally trafficked from other countries by criminal gangs and rival gangs can raid the farm to steal the drugs.
"Sometimes they get the wrong address and break into neighbouring homes. This and the fact that cannabis is illegal, are just some of the reasons we’re so tough on them and why we always act on your tip offs."
A 28-year-old man arrested at the time of the raid was released following questioning and faces no further action.
The closure order was granted at Birmingham Magistrate’s Court on October 29 and runs until midnight on January 28 2022.
