Thousands of cannabis cultivation offences committed in Victoria

MELBOURNE is Australia’s pot capital as figures reveal one suburb in the city’s west had the highest number of cultivation offences.

MILLION-dollar marijuana crops have been uncovered and thousands of cultivation charges issued as police continue to battle the homegrown drug trade in Victoria.

Melbourne is Australia’s pot capital and statistics reveal illegal growers in Deer Park recorded the highest number of cultivation offences in Victoria dating back to 2015.

Police had also charged manufacturers in Bundoora, Shepparton, St Albans and Mildura.

Point Cook, Bairnsdale, Morwell and Reservoir were also on the black-spot cultivation list, according to the Crime Statistics Agency.

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In some cases, police uncovered hundreds of plants in professional-scale hydroponic setups, which have left the houses in serious disrepair.

An image from Victoria Police showing plants in a crop house.

It is understood Vietnamese and Albanian syndicates dominate the scene and have begun targeting homes in rural areas to help avoid detection.

The total number of “hot houses” raided remains unknown, however police signalled last year the growing industry was on the radar.

In the bid to crack down on the marijuana — estimated to be worth $1.5 billion in Victoria — and other illegal drug trade, police launched Operation Chronos in 2017.

The joint operation between regional investigators and the drug squad aims to detect cannabis crops and crime syndicates.

In total, almost 2800 offences have been issued across the state for cultivating cannabis in less than three years.

One of the biggest hydroponic setups was discovered in 2015 in Narre Warren with almost 500 plants.

Police remove cannabis plants from a Melbourne house. Picture: Andy Brownbill

And more than 100 cannabis plants were seized in a drug bust in Melbourne’s north in October.

The statistics come as the debate of legalising cannabis in Australia has intensified in ­recent years.

The Andrews Government was the first state authority to open the door to cannabis for medicinal purposes.

The move came after desperate parents were caught using illegal drugs to treat their sick children were charged by police.

Reason Party MP Fiona Patten has also been pushing for the recreational use of marijuana to be decriminalised.

She warned not legalising the drug was leading to the waste of money on unproductive law enforcement and led to people in the community being prosecuted for using a substance on par with prescription drugs and alcohol.