Late Monday night detectives seized around 300 plants ranging from 1.5 meters to 15 centimeters tall with a street value of around $600,000 – roughly $930,000 worth of dried cannabis leaf was also taken from the Marshall Street premises.

Forensics scoured the premises including a quaint three bedroom country style home, a 200 meter square shed, and a granny flat on Tuesday.

“It was a massive job,” said Lake Illawarra police Inspector Ron Davis. “There was transformers, heat lights, exhaust fans, documentation. It’s still under guard with investigations continuing,” he said.

The illegal operation was discovered after a fire broke out in the shed just before 3pm Sunday. It’s suspected an electrical fault was to blame.

Inspector Davis said it was not uncommon to find drug dens in quiet suburban streets, and it wasn’t unusual their dodgy electrical set-ups sparked fires.

“The majority of the time there’s illegal alterations to power supplies, there’s the tapping off of power, and also all these different sets of equipment require power. 

“It’s nothing to find hundreds and hundreds of extensions cords to this type of equipment,” he said. “They’re definitely dangerous in terms of the risk of electric shock and circuits overheating.”

The Illawarra Mercury spoke with several neighbours who were left dumbfounded to learn drugs were being cultivated just metres from their everyday lives.

Inspector Davis said this is where residents can help alert authorities to anything unusual in their area. Telltale signs include windows being blacked out, strange smells, or the fact the bins never get put out despite seeing someone home occasionally.

He said criminals wouldn’t target specific suburbs so these operations could be anywhere, but are more likely to be in a rental property on a quiet street, away from pedestrian traffic and nosy neighbours.

The industrial zoned property on nearly two acres of land had been on the market several times, and was finally sold for $660,000 in March to a company owner.

Illawarra Mercury