UK police humiliated as deserted stations changed into huge drug factories

A massive dope factory has been discovered in Horley, Surrey, at the site of a former police station that shut down in 2011 after officers found hundreds of cannabis plants

A man was arrested and bailed on suspicion of being involved in supplying Class B drugs(Image: Getty Images)

Police officers discovered a huge cannabis farm at an old police station in Horley, Surrey, last week. The two-story station shut down in 2011, but has since been repurposed as a massive dope factory by criminals.

Officers found hundreds of cannabis plants and a vast UV lighting set-up. A man was arrested and bailed on suspicion of being involved in supplying Class B drugs.

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A Horley resident said: “We’ve had a strong smell of cannabis for months but I just thought it must be kids smoking.” This is the fourth time that farms have been discovered in old London stations, but criminals bypass meters and use their own generators to avoid being caught out.

Officers found hundreds of cannabis plants and a vast UV lighting set-up(Image: Getty Images)

Former Met Deputy Chief Inspector Mick Neville said: “It is sad that buildings which were once a safe haven for the community have been turned into dens of iniquity for criminals.

“These police stations used to serve the purpose of fighting crime – now they are used to commit crime.

“How many more abandoned old police stations are being used for growing cannabis across the country?

“It makes you wonder if our police chiefs have been smoking cannabis themselves – like the Met Commander Julian Bennett was supposed to have done?”

A former Met Dep Chief said: ‘It makes you wonder if our police chiefs have been smoking cannabis themselves?’(Image: Getty Images)

A huge cannabis farm was discovered in an abandoned police station in Streatham, South London, in 2022, after growers were caught when a fire broke out inside the premises.

The station was reportedly home to a million pounds-worth of weed, reports Sun.

A former police station in the Isle of Dogs was also found to be being used as a factory just five months after the building was sold in 2022.

The Star previously reported that Alan Causer and his mob were found trafficking hefty amounts of heroin and cocaine across the UK, leading to his crew being sentenced to over 50 years in total.

He was arrested after his mother was caught red handed by police as she perched on a bed next to a huge wad of cash. This was “just the tip” of an £11million “iceberg”, after police stormed the home of Ian Shacklady and Gillian Melville.

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Prosecutor Henry Riding said Causer had raked in over £11,182,460 from his criminal activities, but only £3,730 was found on him at the time of his arrest.

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