An Aberdeen man has appeared in court after drugs worth almost £150,000 were seized by police in a late-night raid.
Officers attended at a five-bedroom bungalow on Clashrodney Avenue, in the Cove Bay area of the city, on Saturday evening.
A police presence was seen on the street through until yesterday evening, as efforts were made to clear the property.
Yesterday Lukas Armonas, 31, appeared in private at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in connection with the recovery.
He was charged with involvement in the production and supply of a controlled drug, and for breaching the Electricity Act 1989.
Armonas made no plea and was released on bail.
Police made the drugs discovery while investigating a “disturbance” on the same street at around 9.45pm on Saturday.
Armed officers were seen at a nearby Shell petrol station on Wellington Road a short time later in connection.
Three men, aged 19, 20 and 22, were arrested and will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal in relation to the incident.
As police looked into what happened, their investigation took them back to Clashrodney Avenue where they carried out a search of a house.
The heavy presence of officers and dog units prompted one resident to liken the view from their window to “something from a movie scene”.
After gaining entry to the property, police said they found cannabis with an estimated street value of £145,000.
A police presence remained on the street overnight and, the following day, officers could be seen carrying out investigations within the home.
They removed pieces of evidence sealed in plastic bags, understood to be equipment related to a cannabis-growing operation.
A Scottish And Southern Energy Network (SSEN) van was also spotted at the property, with workmen appearing to check the property’s electricity meter.
And yesterday two skips arrived in the driveway of the bungalow, with a team working through the day to clear further items from the house.
Plastic boxes, chemical containers, ducting tubes and pieces of wooden framing were all removed from the property.
The team – wearing face coverings, protective gloves and white boiler suits – was also seen filling one of the skips with large bags of soil.
Last night residents of the street spoke of their shock at the illicit find.
One said: “I can’t believe all of this was going on right under our noses – it’s unbelievable.
“We were asked at one point if we’d ever smelled the cannabis, but I genuinely had no idea this was going on.”
Another said the situation was “crazy”, adding: “It’s normally such a quiet street”.
A police spokeswoman said: “Three men aged 19, 20 and 22 years were arrested and will be subject of a report to the Procurator Fiscal in connection with a disturbance in Clashrodney Avenue, in the Cove Bay area of Aberdeen, around 10.45pm on Saturday, January 9, 2021.
“Further inquiries led to a search of a property in Clashrodney Avenue and a quantity of cannabis with an estimated street value of £145,000 was seized.
“A 31-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the drugs recovery.”
