The owners of a cannabis crop raided in Doreen last week appear to have gone up in smoke.
Detectives from the Whittlesea criminal investigation unit raided a McKenzie Way property last Thursday and found cannabis crops with an estimated value of more than $1 million.
Detective Senior Constable Matthew McKenzie said 530 cannabis plants were growing in every nook and cranny of the house, including the shower, kitchen cupboards, wardrobes and a recess reserved for a fridge.
The house’s intricate wiring system powered transformers for an around-the-clock lighting system.
Senior Constable McKenzie said detectives knew who owned the house and had been trying to make contact for more than a week.
Detectives have visited a number of addresses in the western suburbs but have not found the house owners. The house is no longer a crime scene and all crops have been destroyed.
Detective Senior Constable McKenzie said frequent visitors to the house at unusual times throughout the day had triggered a tip-off to the police.
It was the fourth raid Whittlesea detectives had carried out in the past three months in relation to the cultivation of cannabis. Two of them were in Lalor and one in Wollert.
A woman was charged with cultivating a commercial quantity of marijuana after one of the Lalor raids. A man was charged with cultivating marijuana after the raid in Wollert.
