‘Drugs Factory’ with 600 Pot Plants Found in $20M Mansion Near Buckingham Palace

First, British authorities found weed growing in Legoland near Windsor Castle.

Now, they’ve discovered a “drugs factory” functioning in a $20-million-dollar mansion on Belgravia Street—one of the wealthiest districts in the world—and just meters down the lane from Buckingham Palace in the famed Grosvenor Gardens, originally owned by Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquis of Westminster.

What’s going on over there?

As the bobbies raided the mansion, finding over 600 mature cannabis plants, grow equipment and 30 bags of suspected “drugs,” a squatter dashed out of the place with a clear plastic garbage bag full of tell-tale leaves.

According to reports, two swift police officers caught up with the runner before he had the good sense to simply toss the garbage bag.

A scuffle ensued, but no one was seriously injured, probably because the vast majority of London Metropolitan Police officers don’t carry guns.

In short order, three men who also tried running away were arrested and charged on suspicion of cultivating cannabis.

It is believed that the attempted pot thief with the garbage bag was part of a group of squatters who had taken over a neighboring mansion in Grosvenor Gardens.

The man was released and has not been seen since. His mates confirmed he was not part of the grow operation—just a law-abiding squatter who saw a chance for some free weed and ran with it.

Another young man who “resides” in a $30-million-dollar mansion across the street filmed the police raid.

He told the Mirror: “We saw coppers coming out with cameras and a tripod. We presumed it was surveillance on our squat. Then later the truck was outside with a copper guarding it, so I went to check it out, and overheard a copper saying to another, ‘Wanna see a £500k grow op?’.”

This particular squatter/cameraman, according to the Daily Mail, is part of a group of anarchist squatters recently evicted from a mansion in Eaton Square owned by Russian oligarch Andrey Goncharenko.

The house is one of Goncharenko’s cheaper abodes. The multi-billionaire and his wife went on a shopping spree a couple of years ago and picked up four mansions in Central London for a total of $312 million, including the most expensive town house ever sold in Britain for a mere $150 million.

Meanwhile, Scotland Yard reported that even though the squatter attempted to make off with a bag of weed, all the evidence from the suspected factory was recovered and there had been no arrest for theft of evidence.

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news right here.

from
http://hightimes.com/news/drugs-factory-with-600-pot-plants-found-in-20m-mansion-near-buckingham-palace/