Nunawading factory fire on Rooks Road exposes cannabis crop
Thirty firefighters have been called to a Nunawading factory fire to find it was caused by a dodgy cannabis crop set-up of almost 430 plants. Meanwhile, police have seized a drug haul worth more than $3 million in Bayswater.
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Firefighters discovered a “substantial” cannabis crop, after being called to a factory fire in Nunawading.
More than 400 plants were found when 30 MFB firefighters rushed to the factory and saw smoke billowing from the back of a single-storey building.
A passer-by phoned triple-0 to report the Rooks Rd blaze at 11.33pm on Saturday, December 21.
Whitehorse Detective Acting Sergeant Simon Brendish said firefighters immediately alerted police to the 429 cannabis plants found inside the factory.
Acting Sgt Brendish said firefighters used a helicopter to assess the fire from above, and had the blaze under control within 45 minutes.
He said an electrical fault caused by the crop house set-up is believed to have started the fire.
“It’s a substantial amount of plants,” Acting Sgt Brendish said.
He said no-one was inside the factory at the time and police are investigating.
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Acting Sgt Brendish urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
In an unrelated case, police from the Croydon divisional tasking unit seized a cannabis haul with a street value of more than $3 million at a King St property in Bayswater on Monday, January 13.
A 35-year-old woman and 31-year-old man, both from St Albans were arrested at the scene and police have charged the pair with cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis.