Police discovered a sophisticated cannabis factory with up to 6,000 plants inside a derelict office block on West Hill, near the centre of Dartford, after a member of the public saw someone climbing in through a window on Monday 26 August 2013.[1][2] Officers found the plants spread over two floors with extensive lighting and ventilation equipment, alongside rooms piled with leftover soil, empty soil bags and containers of cultivation chemicals.[1] Kent chief constable Ian Learmonth said it was unclear whether the drugs were intended for Kent streets or further afield, and called shutting the operation a major blow to the county’s drug network.[1] No arrests had been made, the property’s owner was not yet known, and officers were expected to remain at the scene for days dismantling the factory and gathering evidence.[1]
A month later police released an image of a man they wanted to speak to in connection with the discovery, Kent’s biggest cannabis factory, saying the operation uncovered an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 plants worth between £2 million and £4 million over two floors of the West Hill building on 26 August.[2] The man was said to use the name Stefan Nardi, to claim to be 37 and Italian, and to have links to the Deptford area of London, and Detective Sergeant Rik Spicer of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said several lines of enquiry were being followed.[2]
