Landlords urged to check houses for cannabis cultivation

CLARE’S Chief Superintendent has issued a warning to landlords when letting properties, to include a clause where they can inspect their properties to ensure they are not being used as cannabis grow houses.

Following the detection of two grow houses in the county in the past two weeks, Chief Supt John Kerin said this crime is on the increase nationally, as the internet is giving criminals the tools to get started.
“Our cultivation detections would be in line with the increases around the country. It’s a fact that more and more people are going into home growing because instructions on how to do it are so readily available on the internet. The product can be produced and marketed so easily and it’s a factor we are aware of. It’s common at the moment throughout Europe and these grow houses and self-production units are out there. You find the level of heroin and cocaine sale and supply has reduced because of the prices in the current economy and so the likes of this product increases, as it is cheap to produce. It’s something we would be very conscious of. All operational gardaí are aware it is on the increase and we’re trying to be as vigilant as we possibly can to detect it,” he said.
He warned those who rent property that they should be conducting checks to ensure it is not being used for this purpose. Gardaí in Clare have uncovered grow houses where attics and rooms in houses have been adapted for growing cannabis.
“In order to engage in this activity, they have got to do serious alterations, they have to put in electricity and the weight of this stuff on attics does affect the structure. It would not necessarily be all attics. We had one recently where two rooms of a bungalow had been converted and, again, this was in rented accommodation.
“We’ve found where there are timber partitions, they will take them out to create a bigger area. They will take down the structural beams keeping the houses together to create more room to work around and for the product to be produced. The whole structure of the houses can be seriously damaged,” he said.
He issued a similar warning to those renting warehouses or factory units and recommended they make it a condition of their leasing contracts that they are allowed to inspect the premises each quarter.
“The financial consequences for them when they get their houses back are frightening because of the alterations that take place to the houses. It’s in their interest and the interest of the community that they check their property physically,” Chief Supt Kerin concluded.