lequebecfume
05-24-2009, 05:55 AM
Officers find man tending 350 cannabis plants in pub's locked vault
http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/SCOT//TH1_235200947DJP220509_bonnington2.jpg
The Bonnington Bridge Bar on Newhaven Rd.
Published Date: 23 May 2009
By Alan McEWEN
POLICE swooped on a city pub and discovered an underground cannabis farm with more than 350 plants hidden in a vault in the cellar.
Officers who raided the Bonnington Bridge Bar in Newhaven Road reportedly found one man inside the locked vault, apparently tending to the drug factory.
Three men have been arrested and charged in connection with the discovery of plants worth £52,000 on Thursday.
The owner of the pub, Punch Taverns, said the firm had been unaware of the cannabis farm but had "co-operated fully" with the police investigation.
Hydroponic equipment and lights were being used to cultivate the plants in the underground cellar. Six white-suited scene-of-crime officers combed the premises for evidence before bagging the plants and taking them away in police vans.
CID detectives and uniformed officers raided the pub at lunchtime on Thursday and officers were at the scene until that evening.
A resident in nearby Bonnington Avenue said: "I saw two police vans outside the pub on Thursday afternoon at about 4pm. There was six of them and they were being briefed on the pub's beer garden area. I heard one of the police officers talking to someone in the street and I heard him mention cannabis."
Another neighbour said: "When I saw the police I thought it was probably about an assault or even a murder. The pub has quite a bad reputation for noise and fighting. It's really bad on Friday and Saturday night.
"I don't remember anybody ever saying that drugs were being sold from the pub."
A spokeswoman for Punch Taverns said the company had no knowledge of any illegal activities and that the tenant was responsible for all aspects of the business.
She added: "We have a zero tolerance approach to drugs and have co-operated fully with police in their investigations."
There has been a dramatic rise in the number of cannabis farms being discovered by police across Scotland in recent years. The increase has been blamed on Chinese, Vietnamese and Malaysian gangs moving north from London, the Midlands and Merseyside after being targeted by police.
A police spokesman said: "Three men have been arrested and charged following the discovery of a cannabis cultivation beneath an Edinburgh bar.
"An estimated £52,000 worth of cannabis plants were recovered during a police operation at the Bonnington Bridge Bar in Newhaven Road.
"Officers discovered in excess of 350 plants in a cellar beneath the bar, along with cultivation equipment."
Earlier this month, firefighters stumbled upon a cannabis farm after a passer-by mistook the pungent smell of the plants for smoke and dialled 999.
Officers broke into the house in Cramond after getting the emergency call and found all the bedrooms and the loft stuffed with hundreds of plants capable of producing £150,000 of cannabis.
Page 1 of 1
Last Updated: 23 May 2009 10:44 AM
Source: Edinburgh Evening News
http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/-Officers-find-man-.5297179.jp
http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/SCOT//TH1_235200947DJP220509_bonnington2.jpg
The Bonnington Bridge Bar on Newhaven Rd.
Published Date: 23 May 2009
By Alan McEWEN
POLICE swooped on a city pub and discovered an underground cannabis farm with more than 350 plants hidden in a vault in the cellar.
Officers who raided the Bonnington Bridge Bar in Newhaven Road reportedly found one man inside the locked vault, apparently tending to the drug factory.
Three men have been arrested and charged in connection with the discovery of plants worth £52,000 on Thursday.
The owner of the pub, Punch Taverns, said the firm had been unaware of the cannabis farm but had "co-operated fully" with the police investigation.
Hydroponic equipment and lights were being used to cultivate the plants in the underground cellar. Six white-suited scene-of-crime officers combed the premises for evidence before bagging the plants and taking them away in police vans.
CID detectives and uniformed officers raided the pub at lunchtime on Thursday and officers were at the scene until that evening.
A resident in nearby Bonnington Avenue said: "I saw two police vans outside the pub on Thursday afternoon at about 4pm. There was six of them and they were being briefed on the pub's beer garden area. I heard one of the police officers talking to someone in the street and I heard him mention cannabis."
Another neighbour said: "When I saw the police I thought it was probably about an assault or even a murder. The pub has quite a bad reputation for noise and fighting. It's really bad on Friday and Saturday night.
"I don't remember anybody ever saying that drugs were being sold from the pub."
A spokeswoman for Punch Taverns said the company had no knowledge of any illegal activities and that the tenant was responsible for all aspects of the business.
She added: "We have a zero tolerance approach to drugs and have co-operated fully with police in their investigations."
There has been a dramatic rise in the number of cannabis farms being discovered by police across Scotland in recent years. The increase has been blamed on Chinese, Vietnamese and Malaysian gangs moving north from London, the Midlands and Merseyside after being targeted by police.
A police spokesman said: "Three men have been arrested and charged following the discovery of a cannabis cultivation beneath an Edinburgh bar.
"An estimated £52,000 worth of cannabis plants were recovered during a police operation at the Bonnington Bridge Bar in Newhaven Road.
"Officers discovered in excess of 350 plants in a cellar beneath the bar, along with cultivation equipment."
Earlier this month, firefighters stumbled upon a cannabis farm after a passer-by mistook the pungent smell of the plants for smoke and dialled 999.
Officers broke into the house in Cramond after getting the emergency call and found all the bedrooms and the loft stuffed with hundreds of plants capable of producing £150,000 of cannabis.
Page 1 of 1
Last Updated: 23 May 2009 10:44 AM
Source: Edinburgh Evening News
http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/-Officers-find-man-.5297179.jp