Melton police seized more than 25 kilograms of cannabis from a Melton West crop house last week.
Neighbours reported three suspicious men leaving the rental property about 8am on Tuesday, July 17, suspecting the house had been burgled.
When police arrived, they discovered cannabis being cultivated in two of the four rooms.
Detective Senior Constable Heath Davidson said police suspected half the crop – about 100 mature plants – had already been removed. The property had been rented for the past year, with the last real estate agent inspection in December.
Police suspect thousands of dollars of damage, including water damage, has been caused to the property.
Senior Detective Davidson said electricity connections to the property had used dangerous bypasses.
“Powercor said they’d not seen anything like this,” Detective Senior Constable Davidson said.
He said one bypass was from the meter and another connected straight into the power pit at the front corner of the property.
“That’s very dangerous – no one in their right mind would do that,” he said.
Police are looking for three men wearing work and hi-vis clothing who were seen leaving the property last Tuesday.
Detective Senior Constable Davidson said police generally located crop houses thanks to public help.
He urged residents to be vigilant and report suspicious behaviour to police.
“If there’s an unusual smell, unusually bright lights, windows covered all the time, unkempt yards that are not cared for … and people coming and going for short periods every day or every other day,” Detective Senior Constable said.
Anyone with information about the Melton West property, or to report a suspected crop house, is being urged to contact Melton police on 9747 7999.
