600 cannabis plants found in Ballyward factory - five in court

600 cannabis plants found in Ballyward factory - five in court

29 May 2013

FIVE men have appeared in court after the discovery of what police have described as “one of the most advanced and unique cannabis factories” ever discovered in Northern Ireland.

The factory at Derryneill Road, Ballyward, was discovered last Tuesday. Over 600 plants in three stages of development were discovered with an estimated street value of £350,000.

The five men arrested were Rowan Samuel McInnes (45), of Derryneill Road; Brendan Richard Rice (48), of Dundrum Road, Newcastle; Mark Cavanagh (38) and Joseph McMenamin (36), both of Killultagh Rise, Glenavy, and Brendan McDonagh (30), of Brookhill Avenue, Belfast.

They all appeared at Downpatrick Court on Thursday each charged with cultivating cannabis and possession of drugs with intent to supply. The five were remanded in custody.

During a bail application for McInnes a detective explained the arrests came after a 12 month covert operation during which police collected video and audio evidence. He said the police also seized vehicles from the property with an estimated value of £100,000.

He said when police arrived they arrested four men in the shed and a fifth was detained a short distance away.

The detective constable said: “The shed entry is through a shutter door and a pedestrian door. Within that area there is a lot of equipment which is found in a cannabis factory.

“This is one of the most advanced and unique cannabis factories we have discovered in Northern Ireland.

“The shed consisted of an above ground area with equipment to grow cannabis, then planks and blocks to conceal an underground area, that seems to have been used for a long time for cannabis growth.”

He said that officers had found a cable dug into an electricity pole and he believed the power for the operation was coming in from the mains.

The detective also said that at least two people from America were brought in to help with the drugs operation.

District Judge Greg McCourt denied bail and remanded all the men in custody to appear by video link at Downpatrick Court on June 6.