Police warn private landlords on drug factories

Police in London are enlisting letting agents and landlords in the war against drugs.

They are warning that the presence of deodorant, stained coffee filters and small plastic bags may indicate that a property has been turned into a drugs factory.
 
Wandsworth Police have sent a pamphlet to 123 agents. It contains hints on how to spot drug dealers and has been issued as part of the London-wide crackdown on drugs offences codenamed Operation Hawk.

The booklet, ‘Keeping Illegal Drugs Out of Rental Properties’, has specific advice on how to spot amphetamine laboratories and cannabis factories.

Discarded cold or allergy medicines, strong chemical odours and people smoking outside the property could indicate an amphetamine factory.
 
Paranoid behaviour, a sudden jump or fall in electricity bills and scuffed wallpaper could be signs of a property being used to grow cannabis.

Acting Sergeant Katy Shepherd said: “We are asking agents to disseminate the leaflet to the landlords that they have got on their lists.”