LONDON — If there’s one thing criminals usually prize when seeking a base for their activities, it’s privacy.
That suggests the hustle and bustle of London’s financial district would make it an unlikely choice for a giant drugmaking factory.
But with streets in England largely empty because of the latest coronavirus lockdown, that is exactly what the police found this past week. Officers responding to reports of a strong smell discovered 826 cannabis plants in the basement of a deserted commercial building not far from the Bank of England.
According to the City of London Police, it was the first “cannabis factory” ever found in the financial district. It was “no doubt being set up in response to fewer people being out and about during the pandemic who might have noticed any unusual activity,” said Andy Spooner, the acting detective inspector leading the investigation, in a statement released on Wednesday.
The City of London has emptied as the British government tries to tamp down a surge in coronavirus cases, instructing employees to work from home to curb transmission. The area is normally teeming with people, particularly on weekdays. The London Stock Exchange and the corporate headquarters of major financial groups, as well as the Bank of England, are all tightly clustered in the zone, also known as the Square Mile.
Photographs released by the police of the…
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LONDON — If there’s one thing criminals usually prize when seeking a base for their activities, it’s privacy.
That suggests the hustle and bustle of London’s financial district would make it an unlikely choice for a giant drugmaking factory.
But with streets in England largely empty because of the latest coronavirus lockdown, that is exactly what the police found this past week. Officers responding to reports of a strong smell discovered 826 cannabis plants in the basement of a deserted commercial building not far from the Bank of England.
According to the City of London Police, it was the first “cannabis factory” ever found in the financial district. It was “no doubt being set up in response to fewer people being out and about during the pandemic who might have noticed any unusual activity,” said Andy Spooner, the acting detective inspector leading the investigation, in a statement released on Wednesday.
The City of London has emptied as the British government tries to tamp down a surge in coronavirus cases, instructing employees to work from home to curb transmission. The area is normally teeming with people, particularly on weekdays. The London Stock Exchange and the corporate headquarters of major financial groups, as well as the Bank of England, are all tightly clustered in the zone, also known as the Square Mile.
Photographs released by the police of the…
