Huge cannabis farm hiding in a tiny remote town with 2,000 plants ready for harvest is shut down in a police raid
- Cops seize 50g of dried cannabis and 2,000 plants in Western Australia
- Alarming discovery found at a rural property at Kokeby in the Wheatbelt region
- Police bodycam footage shows the sophistication of the alleged drug operation
- Five men arrested, charged and refused bail to reappear in court in February
A huge cannabis farm with more than 2,000 plants hiding near a tiny outback town has been uncovered and shut down.
Five men will spend the next month behind bars after police raided a property in Kokeby in Western Australia‘s Wheatbelt region last week.
Officers discovered a greenhouse on-site where they allegedly found and seized more than 50kg of dried cannabis and in excess of 2,000 cannabis plants ready for harvest.
Bodycam footage released by police showed the sophistication of the set-up with hundreds of rows of cannabis crops and dried plants being powered by large generators.
WA Police found a greenhouse filled with excess of 2,000 cannabis plants in Kokeby
A closer inspection of the remote rural property shows various drug-making equipment and generators being stored while another greenhouse appeared to show space to grow and expand the set-up.
Police will allege the drug operation was run by five Mandarin-speaking men aged 28 to 49.
They were each charged with one count each of cultivating a prohibited plant with intent to sell or supply and drug possession with Intent to sell or supply.
Tony Kittu, 43, Kaki Ko, 28, Karwai Lau, 49, Kam Soo, 47 and Hung Cheng-Pin, 30, briefly appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday, where they were refused bail to appear in court next month, The West Australian reported.
Located 130km south-east of Perth, Kokeby is home to just 85 residents.
Police also seized more than 50 kilograms of dried cannabis found in the greenhouse
Five men have charged and refused bail in relation to the alleged drug operation
The cannabis haul is the largest seized in recent times by WA Police.
‘This is a significant quantity of drugs to be seized and taken off the streets, produced as part of a plan to make huge profits for a serious organised crime group,’ Detective Superintendent John Hutchinson said.
‘These profits are utilised for the purposes of funding other serious crimes all of this contribute to causing harm to the community.
‘These seizures break that cycle and disrupt the crime groups involved, ultimately reducing that harm.’
A walk-though of the property by police shows space to expand the alleged drug operation
The cannabis crops were allegedly powered by a number of generators on the property
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