Landlords urged to be vigilant after drugs busts

A senior Garda officer yesterday advised people renting warehouses to check out potential tenants who may be involved in the drugs business.

Chief Supt Pat Sullivan, Tralee, was speaking in the wake of four cannabis seizures in the country earlier this week which netted drugs with a street value of €2.2m.

On Monday, there was a €1.4m haul from a rented warehouse in Clash Industrial Estate, Tralee, and smaller amounts were seized in Garda searches of other buildings in Cavan and Roscommon. All the searches were part of Operation Nitrogen.

There was an unconnected €70,300 cannabis herb seizure from a bungalow and adjoining lands at Derrycunnihy, Killarney, on Tuesday.

The Tralee seizure — one of eight in Kerry in recent times — was the biggest amount of cannabis under cultivation found in the area to date.

“I would ask people, especially those renting properties, to be vigilant about who they are renting to and to ‘suss’ out these people,’’ Chief Supt Sullivan said. He pointed out that cannabis ‘grow houses’ with extensive lighting and heating systems also generate noticeably high electricity bills.

Around 1,800 plants were found in the Tralee warehouse. Twenty gardaí, some of them armed, were involved in the raid.

Having forced entry, they found themselves inside a huge cannabis- growing factory, with floor-to-ceiling insulation sheeting, heating, watering, lighting and ventilation equipment.

Two Vietnamese men spoke little English and also appeared to be living on the premises.