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Suspected drug growers ram police car in Birkenhead





THREE men suspected of being able to grow up to £2m of drugs per year year rammed police cars as they tried to get away from a raid.

Officers sprung a trap as the men left a commercial premises in Marshall Street, Birkenhead, at 7.15pm on Tuesday.

The men smashed into police cars with their own vehicle and then tried to run off but were collared by police from Wirral tactical team.

A search of the property revealed an elaborate cannabis factory in a hidden cellar.

The three men – two from Cheshire, aged 25 and 35, and one aged 25 from North Wales – were being questioned by detectives last night.


THE ECHO

Last edited by _jase_; 14th Mar 2011 2:56pm. Reason: Renamed topic & Merged into one topic
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Multi-million pound cannabis factory found in Wirral - three jailed

Three men employed as gardeners at a large-scale cannabis farm, which could potentially produce almost £4m worth of the drug a year, were put behind bars today.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that police uncovered the sophisticated drugs operation on a Birkenhead industrial estate after using heat seeking equipment on a force helicopter.

They kept the Marshall Street unit under observation for nearly three months and secretly watched as brothers Karl and John Faulkner and friend Michael Cree ran the operation.

Geoffrey Lowe, prosecuting, said when officers eventually decided to arrest the men on October 12 last year as they drove away in a van, Cree made a desperate attempt to escape.

He smashed into a police car before mounting the pavement, hitting an officer and a tree, then colliding with another car. Fortunately the officer was not seriously injured.

When police entered the industrial unit they discovered more than 1,550 plants at various stages of growth.

The factory had been divided into a “nursery” for the youngest plants and a “growing room” full of flowering female flowers.

Mr Lowe said that the estimated value of the plants uncovered was up to £616,000.

But he said that over the course of the year, with a harvest every three weeks, the factory could have produced cannabis worth £3,687,640 over a year.

Cree, 26, of Treborth Road, Blacon, John Faulkner, also 26, of Fford Cae Llwyn, Connahs Quay and Karl Faulkner, 36, of Elm Road, Ashton Park, Deeside, all pleaded guilty to producing cannabis. Cree also admitted dangerous driving.

Gerald Pachter, defending, said that Cree only has one old conviction and works as a self-employed builder.

Although his partner asked him to move out because of the stress of the situation, he is still a "very good father" to his two young children.

"His involvement started in a bizarre way to look after his family financially because of the slump," said Mr Pachter.

He added that he was a gardener and had not been involved in setting up the operation, management or distribution.

He should have been paid £3,000 but only received half that sum.

Mr Pachter said that Cree had not deliberately driven at the police but had just panicked and driven recklessly.

Defence barrister Simon Driver said Karl Faulkner had taken a gamble last summer by getting involved but quickly regretted it and wished to extricate himself.

He is a family man who has been working part time and this will be his first taste of custody, he added.

Jonathan Duffy, defending John Faulkner, said, "He is a joiner by profession. But he found himself in increasing financial difficulties and was offered an opportunity for a modest amount of money."

Faulkner was paid £200 a time but quickly "came to his senses" and realised the impact of what he was doing but was unable to extricate himself.

He has two young daughters and a partner.

"He understands more than anybody the very serious jeopardy he has put that in by his crazy decision to get involved," added Mr Duffy.

The judge, Recorder Nicholas Fewtrell, said, "This was a large scale, sophisticated cannabis factory."

He told the trio that he accepted that they were "gardeners" but pointed out that they were "important cogs in what was a very significant operation."

Jailing each of them for two years for the cannabis offence, he said he would be failing in his public duty if he did not send them into custody.

He also sentenced Cree to six months' imprisonment to run consecutively for dangerous driving and banned him from driving for two years.

After sentence had been passed, Detective Superintendent Lee Halstead from Titan, the North West Regional Task Force, said in a press statement: "These three men were involved in the significant production of cannabis, which was bound for the streets of the Northwest and potentially beyond.

"Officers from Titan worked alongside our partners in Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales to investigate these offenders and ultimately take them off our streets.

"Drugs and their associated criminal activity is a blight on the lives of innocent residents and will not be tolerated by police forces across the region.

"Titan is committed to tackling serious organised crime across the North West.

"Working together with our partners across the regional forces and local communities, we are determined to disrupt and ultimately halt the activity of those prepared to engage in this sort of crime."

[Linked Image]

Source: Globe

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What a shame! The Gov should grow it and give the user a medical card to consume it. Look at Canada and the US. It seems to be working. Cannabis is a very very old medcine used many thousands of years ago. People are growing it as they are skint. No one has ever died from consuming THC. In all honesty the scallys who smoke it just to get high is not right. But the benifets have been proved for people in chronic pain. I watched a Doc on bbc. This lady had to take over 27 pills to stop the pain a day. She got granted a Medical Card and now shes vaporising the cannabis. She is no longer in pain, and her stomach is not ripped to shreds with "man made " pills

Throught provoking??....


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It is grown legally in the country...

It's not the using the stuff that's the big issue it's the gang related problems that comes with it.

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I agree with the crime issue though, if you make any thing illegal it moves to the black market to obtain it ,thus creating a hole for gangs to exploit.


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If they gave away for free all the dope found in these raids, they could completely smash the cannabis trade. But it's impossible of course to prevent it from getting into the hands of kids which is the real problem.

It should certainly be decriminalised for those over say 21 who are using it in the privacy of their own homes. I know that like alcohol, it can cause psychological problems in certain vulnerable individuals but it's largely a crime without victims.

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What amazes me is the mitigation that all these people put forward as a defence, load of cobblers. It might not be so beneficial when there are loads of people driving around under the influence though, which there probably is anyway looking at the way some drivers go about their vehicle control. Where does this anything goes mentality come from?????


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Thanks for merging Jase happy

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no worrys mate.. happy

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I have a friend who has diabetes who told me he could stand in a bath of really hot water and not feel a thing ,but if he had a cannabis biscuit the feeling came back into his legs.
He told his doctor who didn't want to know.
Wasn't cannabis originally made illegal because it was a rival to cotton and threatened the cotton industry

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Has the opposite effect on me. I reckon it'd be afterwards I wouldn't be able to feel a thing!

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Yes a guy in the american gov owned a paper mill. Hemp was used to make paper. And it takes alot less hemp to produce paper than trees......


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Originally Posted by JohnLeatherFix
Yes a guy in the american gov owned a paper mill. Hemp was used to make paper. And it takes alot less hemp to produce paper than trees......


make it legal, thats all sanchez has to say.


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Alex agrees with Sanchez.

On a slightly related note, just booked Amsterdam for May. Can't wait.

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lol, I must insist you try the devils dynamite mushrooms/truffles. Very hypnotic!


Uncertainty or not knowing causes depression, Im happy because I know I'm going to die one day!
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