Residents on Gala Crescent in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, say dozens of large cannabis plants and cultivation equipment were left in the front garden of a council house after a police raid, as first reported by the Daily Record.

Police Scotland has been asked to comment. The claims in this report come from a neighbour who contacted the newspaper, and have not been confirmed by the force.

What neighbours say happened

The neighbour told the Daily Record that a Police Scotland helicopter was seen searching the area a few weeks ago, after which vans arrived on the street. He said many bags were taken away at the time, and he and others assumed they contained plants, cannabis buds and other evidence.

He said the street then went quiet until Tuesday, when more workers arrived, emptied the house and left the contents outside.

The neighbour said he counted scores of large plants, some of which appeared to be still growing, and that he moved "handfuls" of leaves from the pavement into bins. He also described soil, plant pots, containers for chemicals and a large ventilation duct among the items left on the property.

He further claimed that people walking past were picking items out of the pile, presumably for their own use. The newspaper has not said this was verified. He also raised concern about the visibility of the material, saying children had to pass the garden on their way to school.

It is not clear from the report which organisation carried out the clearance of the house, or who was responsible for the property after the raid.

Wider context

The Daily Record linked the report to Operation Kendrew, a Police Scotland operation announced in September. The newspaper did not say that the Wishaw house was part of that operation, and the link has not been confirmed.

According to the Daily Record, that operation involved around 300 officers, who are understood to have raided 47 properties across Glasgow, Falkirk, Dundee and other parts of the central belt and north-east. There were 36 arrests, 14 cannabis cultivations were found, and police said a number of potential trafficking victims were identified. Police estimated the cultivations were worth about £3 million.

Police said the operation targeted a group said to be mainly run by people from Vietnam, with some members from other south-east Asian countries. The offences under investigation include alleged human trafficking, drug cultivation, fraud, forced labour, immigration crime and money laundering. Police Scotland worked with the National Crime Agency, the Home Office, Immigration Enforcement, HMRC and policing forces in Vietnam and other south-east Asian countries.

Cannabis is a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and cultivating it is an offence. Large-scale cannabis farms in residential properties have been found across Scotland and the rest of the UK. The Daily Record noted that such set-ups often involve illegal connections to the electricity supply, which can be dangerous.

No arrests or charges relating to the Wishaw property were mentioned in the report. Any response from Police Scotland or the local council has yet to be published.