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£200,000 of cannabis plants that won't be at the carnival
Thomas Joiner19.08.08
Police have seized a £200,000 stockpile of cannabis destined for the Notting Hill Carnival.
The haul of more than 2,000 cannabis plants was discovered during a raid on a former nightclub in Harlesden High Street.
Officers uncovered a labyrinth of plant-cultivating chambers after smashing through three doors at the building that used to house the What's Your Flava club.
The dancefloor and bar area had been transformed into a vast nursery, with rows of heat lamps carefully positioned over a sea of bud-bearing plants. Hundreds of other illegal specimens, at various stages of maturity, were packed into three rooms in the basement.
Two men were seen jumping over a hedge at the back of the club shortly after police entered, but managed to escape from pursuing officers.
Sergeant Greg Wakefield, from Kensal Green Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: "This has been very professionally done and I am certain the plants were destined for the Notting Hill Carnival. We have taken a significant amount of drugs off the streets."
Search teams found stairwells and corridors strewn with bottles of used fertiliser, and a series of air ducts snaking their way throughout the club to filter away the pungent smell of cannabis. It is believed the factory's operators had illegally tapped into the electricity mains. Hundreds of feet of wires were found hanging from the low ceilings, coming from large banks of timed plugs.
Sgt Wakefield said: "We hit the jackpot. I could smell the cannabis after breaking down the first door, it was that strong, but I never expected to find so many plants here."
Police secured a search warrant for the property after receiving "overwhelming evidence" that it was being used as a drugs factory, including tip-offs from the public.
However, neighbours living in flats above said they were shocked that such a large-scale operation was being carried out right under their noses. Magdui Gad said: "The nightclub shut around three months ago but I have never really seen anyone going in and out of the property."
