Police smashed a village house marijuana plantation in Sheung Shui and seized 859 marijuana plants weighing about 70 kilograms with a market value of about $12 million, as well as a batch of marijuana cultivation tools, including sun lamps, LPG stoves, plant nutrient solutions and soil wait.
A 49-year-old local man was arrested.
The police said that the perpetrators used the village house as a cover to install powerful sun lamps, shade cloth, heat insulation cotton and carbon dioxide machines in the house to control the temperature and humidity in the room and speed up the growth of marijuana.
According to police calculations, the drug trafficking syndicate can harvest 687 kilograms of marijuana each year, with a market value of up to $127 million, supplying the local market.
The village house involved has 3 floors including the roof, with a total area of about 2,100 square feet.
The perpetrators used five rooms of 150 square feet each on the first and second floors, and allocated them to different rooms for cultivation according to the growth speed of marijuana.
(Photo by Wang Yiyang)
The arrested man is unemployed, lives in the village house involved, and is in charge of managing the marijuana plantation. He is being detained for investigation.
He will be charged with "planting marijuana" and "trafficking in dangerous drugs". The case will be brought up in Fanling Magistrates' Court next Monday. The police do not rule out that more people will be arrested.
Zeng Xianzhao, Senior Inspector of the Narcotics Investigation Division of the Police, explained the case and said that the village house involved had three floors and a roof, with a total area of about 2,100 square feet.
The perpetrators used five rooms of 150 square feet each on the first and second floors to cultivate "saplings", "growing" and "nearly mature" marijuana.
The room is also equipped with powerful sun lamps, shade cloth, heat insulation cotton and a carbon dioxide machine driven by petroleum gas to control the temperature and humidity in the room and speed up the growth of cannabis.
Zeng Xianzhao continued to point out that the wiring connection in the house is chaotic, and there is LPG to drive the carbon dioxide machine. If the electrical appliances are overloaded, it may cause an explosion and affect nearby residents.
Police investigations believe that the perpetrators imported a batch of marijuana seeds and planting tools from overseas. The plantation has only been in operation for a few months. This operation successfully prevented marijuana from entering the market and cracked down on criminals' sources of income.
Police reiterated that cultivating cannabis plants is a serious offence.
According to the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, upon conviction, the maximum penalty is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for 15 years. Members of the public should not try their best.
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