Cannabis growhouses report: Cannabis factory bonanza for Irish gangs

Homegrown cannabis factories are generating massive profits for Irish and foreign gangs, with figures indicating growhouses uncovered by gardaí are capable of producing around €100m worth of the drug every year.

It is the first such estimate of a trade which has boomed in recent years, reflected in a tenfold rise in the amount of cannabis plants seized by gardaí between 2009 and 2012.

Cannabis production — once dominated by Chinese and Vietnamese gangs, but increasingly involving Irish and Eastern European outfits — is considered to offer profits greater than any other form of illegal drug.