A cannabis factory containing plants worth an estimated £400,000 was found at a remote Moray property yesterday.
Over 1,000 plants at various stages of growth were recovered after Grampian Police raided the house near Aberlour. The force said the operation at the isolated house, half a mile south of Aberlour, had uncovered a “large-scale cannabis factory”.
It is understood police raided the property after receiving a tip-off from local residents suspicious about activity in the building, known locally as the “house with the copper turret”.
But one man who lives opposite the property on the A95 Aberlour-Grantown road said the first he knew of the operation was when he went to make a cup of tea about 9.45am and found his electricity switched off.
He went to see his neighbour to find out if there was a power cut and, when he stepped outside, he saw three police cars and three vans parked across the road.
The neighbour refused to name the man who owned the house but said he split his time between Edinburgh and Aberlour and rented out the property. He had never seen the tenants, he said.
Police said the plants were discovered after an intelligence-led operation involving Moray CID and officers from the drug squad. Officers from the underwater search unit were also called in to search confined areas.
Two police officers guarded the scene overnight and the operation is expected to resume this morning .
Speyside Glenlivet councillor Malcolm McConachie said: “I am happy that it was intelligence-led, by vigilant local people, and it is great the community notice these things and report them. Speyside has one of the lowest crime rates in Scotland and for something like this to happen is out of the blue.
“It may be that people targeted this area because they thought there would be less police presence in the area.”
The house, called Delene at the time, was put up for sale in 2006 at offers over £375,000 and was described as a traditional croft house, although it had undergone extensive renovation over three years.
It is not known if the house was sold.
The police spokesman said two men were in custody in connection with the find and were due to appear at Elgin Sheriff Court at a later date.
The factory is the latest in a series found by police in the north and north-east.
Earlier this month, Northern Constabulary raided properties at Spean Bridge and Drumnadrochit. Grampian found a factory containing 360 plants at Fetteresso, Stonehaven, in July.