Breightmet: Police respond after two fires linked to cannabis farms

A blaze broke out on Mobberley Road last month which led police to discover a suspected cannabis operation.

And last November a blaze broke out at a house on Brightmeadow Close which also led to the discovery that drugs were being grown in the property.

Both of the properties has been recently built.

And at a recent Partners and Communities Together (PACT) meeting Cllr Adele Warren, who represents the Breightmet ward, asked a police officer what is needed to raid a property.

She said: “We have had two fires from cannabis grows in lofts.

“The two houses where it happened were new.

“Older properties are more at risk.

“Is it correct that three pieces of intelligence are needed?

“People will contact me and say there is a really strong smell.”

Neighbourhood Sergeant Dan Richards confirmed this was the case and explained why.

He said: “You are right, it is three that we would need.

“It is three different sources really because intelligence can be malicious or simply a hunch.

“We have had instances where we have had a warrant for a house of an old man who has clearly not had cannabis growing.

“It can be that it was a nearby house.

“We have got to be pretty sure.

“We have officers that can go and try a specialist operation.

“That can be one piece of intelligence.

“We have got a couple on the go at the moment.”

After the fire on Mobberley Road on Saturday, June 26 at 11.25pm a man in her 40s and a man in his 30s were arrested on suspicion of the cultivation of cannabis and later released on bail.

Five fire engines tackled the blaze into the early hours of the morning.

Sgt Richards said the police had no intelligence on this one before it broke out.

A 34-year-old was arrested last November after the fire broke out on Brightmeadow Close.

Two appliances were sent to the scene after the fire started from an outdoor electrical box.