Cannabis Cultivation ADet Insp Andy Ryan Knowsley CID

Cannabis Cultivation A/Det Insp Andy Ryan Knowsley CID

Aims & Objectives • What is Cannabis? • What methods are used by those who cultivate Cannabis • What is the impact on Merseyside Police and our partners? • Example case study • How can we tackle the issues? • What do we hope to achieve?

It’s okay to have it for personal use. It’s just for pain relief officer. It’s not even illegal! Everyone smokes it! I don’t do drugs, this is cannabis. Misconceptions It’s only a smoke. I smoke this ‘cause heroin and coke mess with your head. Cannabis is only Class B. It just chills me out. It’s not as bad as alcohol.

What is Cannabis? • Cannabis is a plant that grows naturally in tropical to temperate forest regions and flowers once a year during the Autumn season. • Certain parts of the plant contain the psychoactive drug know as THC (Tetra hydro cannabinol). • To cultivate here you would have to replicate the plant’s natural habitat. • By artificially replicating the plants habitat you can accelerate the process and cultivate plants much faster than would be possible in a natural seasonal climate.

Why has the cultivation of Cannabis become such an issue? • Popularity of Cannabis means that demand is enormous • Demand far outweighs the amount being imported • Organised Crime Groups (OCG’s) recognise this as a lucrative market to exploit • Carries less risk than dealing in other drugs • Cannabis is relatively easy to produce • OCG’s have access to a network of criminal associates who can facilitate the cultivation • Those with drug debts being forced to cultivate on behalf of others in order to pay debts • Firearms related incidents involving OCG’s targeting those who have stolen their crop

Location, Location • Increasingly in recent years Merseyside Police have discovered increasing numbers of cultivation sites in very diverse locations, from disused churches and pubs to industrial units and nightclubs, along with bedrooms and loft spaces within residential premises. Circumstances leading to discovery of cultivation sites: • ‘Legitimate’ Burglaries • Assaults • Warrants being executed for unrelated matters • Domestic Violence incidents • Anonymous callers • Utility companies • As a result of intelligence led enquiries by Officers

Reported Cannabis Cultivations • Most widely used drug in the UK • The second fastest rising crime in the UK High yield in terms of commodity and profit OCG’s moving away from factories with 100+ plants to multiple smaller factories • • • In 2010, ACPO estimated that approx 92. 5 tonnes of Cannabis are cultivated in the UK every year • The UK Cannabis market is believed to be worth £ 2. 3 Billion

Scale of Cannabis ‘factories’

How profitable is cultivation? £ 240, 000 25 plants x £ 400 per plant = £ 10, 000 per crop average 4 crops per year Total £ 40, 000

OCG involvement • The number of OCG’s involved in the cultivation of Cannabis in Merseyside is believed to have doubled since 2009. • Historically South East Asian OCG’s controlled a large part of the Cannabis market in the UK. Local OCG’s now seen to control the large majority of factories that are recovered. To a lesser extent, some factories are recovered that belong to an individual. • Involved in such criminal behaviour due to the significant profits that can be made with very little risk to them. • OCG’s are involved in ‘taxing’ others, the methods of such taxing includes Burglary, ambush of drugs drops and taxing of local dealers. • OCG’s are not solely involved in the cultivation of Cannabis. It is suspected that they use this as a less risky activity that can fund more serious crime such as involvement in Class A drug supply. Where this is the case, then targeting a given OCG could be an effective method of disrupting a much wider range of their criminality.

The impact on Merseyside Police • Electrocution • Fire or explosion • Booby traps • Trips and falls • Weapons found within cultivation sites • THC – airborne particles • Heat and chemical burns • Building collapse

The impact on Merseyside Police • Financial costs – Increased operational costs – Costs of storage of equipment – Cost of fees to forensic laboratories • Resource implications • Drug taxing creates a high level of risk to the force – Retribution from opposing factions – Escalation leading to long term disputes between OCG’s • Potential increase in Gun Crime • Adverse media coverage • Increased crime rates

The impact on our partners • Health and Safety risks • Child Protection concerns • Structural damage to buildings • Fly tipping • Mistaken identity / address • Risk to neighbouring properties • Reputational risk

Sentencing Guidelines Sentencing Council Guidelines for Cannabis production / cultivation depend on scale, whether for personal use or commercial distribution, level of involvement and sophistication of operation. R v Xiong (or Xu) [2007] Statutory Limitations & Maximum Penalty: 14 years imprisonment Low level involvement should attract 3 years imprisonment Involvement in setting up or controlling should attract 6 – 7 years imprisonment Management of cultivation site should attract 3 – 7 years imprisonment The above heavily depends on the value of the Cannabis produced and the level of the involvement Where the cultivation is proven to be for personal use the sentence is often only a fine

Case Study July 2010 Male Subject arrested at home address. Two large paper sacks containing recently harvested Cannabis bush recovered during subsequent search. In interview, Male Subject claims for personal use only. Male Subject bailed pending forensic examination of drugs. January 2011 Forensic report confirms plant matter is cannabis weighing 1562 grams. February 2011 Decision made by CPS to charge Male Subject with Possession of a Controlled Drug. Male Subject subsequently charged. April 2011 Male Subject appears at court and pleads guilty to POCD. Sentence received: £ 200 fine to be paid in instalments direct from his benefits. Good result? 1562 grams equals a total street value of up to £ 31, 240 An average cannabis user is said to smoke five reefers per gram of Cannabis 781 days worth of Cannabis (for an above average user) Already cultivated Cannabis is likely to rot in less than 2 months

What are we doing to tackle the problem? • We recognised that we needed to review our practices in order to have a greater impact on this form of criminality. • Need to consider links between investigations so that conspiracy charges can be considered. • It is believed that we can identify and disrupt OCG’s who have access to firearms via their involvement in the cultivation and supply of Cannabis. • We have acknowledged that OCG’s will see that, instead of risking whole crop being seized if discovered by police (or in fact a rival OCG), then OCG’s having a number of smaller crops reduce this risk, but maintain potential profitability. • We believed that if we had a team of officers dedicated to one type of criminality the this would provide a level of professional knowledge and expertise that will only benefit investigations. • Operation Dreadnought.

What can our partners do to assist Merseyside Police?

What to do if you or your staff suspect that a Cannabis factory exists • An accurate number of how many Cannabis factories exist within Merseyside is unknown as our data is based purely on the number of factories recovered. The amount of taxings taking place is also difficult to quantify as these are often not reported unless they are witnessed by a community member. • Community intelligence is regularly received providing information about a cultivation site. This often takes the form of the community member suspecting that Cannabis is being grown due to suspicious activity or the distinctive smell. The information received is then developed and acted upon and may result in the recovery of a Cannabis factory. • We are heavily reliant on intelligence and information regarding this issue and it is therefore paramount that community members and partners continue to pass information via the following methods. webmaster@merseyside. police. uk

Ways to tackle offenders together • Discourage the use of Cannabis by the wider public through education • Encourage the community to report suspicious activity in relation to Cannabis factories • Identify and disrupt OCG’s who are known to be involved in the cultivation and supply of Cannabis • Disrupt OCG’s from acquiring equipment and plants by developing warrant opportunities through the identification of premises being used to cultivate Cannabis • Target companies who knowingly sell hydroponics equipment to OCG members for the cultivation of Cannabis • Increase awareness and educate staff in DIY stores on the criminal use of hydroponics and other such equipment that may be purchased to be used to cultivate Cannabis

Ways to tackle offenders together • Raise awareness of the impact of Cannabis cultivations on our communities via the use of a coordinated media campaign • Distribute advice to private landlords and letting agents • Hold private landlords accountable for the behaviour of their tenants • Take positive action against those involved in this type of criminality via the use of Tenancy Enforcement initiatives • Enhance understanding of pricing structures and usage levels across the entire criminal justice system to enable informed decisions to be made in relation to charging and convicting of nominals involved in the cultivation of Cannabis

What do we intend to achieve • To be in a more informed position to build a profile on Cannabis Cultivation (there is a recognition at national level that much of the data compiled re this level of criminality is based on anecdotal evidence). • Maximise publicity opportunities in order to: – Increase awareness of Cannabis cultivations as an emerging issue – Send a strong message to offenders – Publicise ‘good news’ stories • Reassure the public that positive action is being taken in response to such a significant emerging issue. • Agree how ‘success’ will be measured and monitored.

Any Questions? A/Det Insp Andy Ryan Knowsley CID