Garda chief hails cannabis busts

Detectives have busted 60 cannabis factories in less than a year, the country’s Garda chief has revealed.

Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said drugs with a street value of €6m were seized as part of the detections since last July.

“We are making very significant inroads into this particular type of criminal activity,” he said.

Around 40 people have been brought before the courts over investigations into the so-called grow houses in the last nine months.

Commissioner Callinan said the illegal cultivation was an attractive prospect to criminals as it involved little cash outlay and the cannabis was reproducing in eight/nine week cycles.

“This particular activity provides a quick buck for the criminal,” he said.

“It is low maintenance and high return.”