Rent not paid

Apartment turned into a drug plantation with 10 tons of soil

Tons of soil in the landlord's former living room(Bild: BBC (Screenshot))

A landlord in the British capital of London called in the police because the rent for an apartment he was renting out had not been paid - and then he was almost struck down ...

"Oh my God" - those were the words of Briton Charles Reeves when he was finally allowed to enter his rented apartment again. Unbeknownst to him, a professional cannabis farmer had taken up residence in the four walls and turned the apartment into a drug plantation.

When he failed to pay his rent, Reeves, who was in the USA on business, called the police. It was only after a court order that the owner was allowed back into the apartment in London and was astonished to see ten tons of soil lying in the living room.

400 cannabis plants seized
The apartment was also full of holes through which cables had been pulled and there was a pungent smell of marijuana. The alerted police were able to seize 400 flowering cannabis plants with a street value of several hundred thousand euros.

The Briton also discovered an elaborate system with fans, lamps and a ventilation system. The illegal cannabis grower had also rewired the electricity system to light the cannabis plant without charging the electricity meter. According to the police in London, there has been a marked increase in crimes of this kind.