Sydney cannabis growers caught stealing electricity from sub-station for £1m hydroponic farm

Police seized more than 650 plants, beleived to have a street value of2.2 million Australian dollars

The growers were using a dangerous network of plug adaptors and cables to siphon electricity from a sub-station (New South Wales Police)

Police in Sydney have discovered more than £1 million worth of cannabis plants from a warehouse near the city’s airport.

The growers had siphoned electricity form a nearby sub-station using a nest of plug adaptors and tangled wires that lay dangerously close to the water used to grow the drug.

New South Wales (NSW) police said the warehouse had been converted into a hydroponic farm containing more than 650 plants in the Mascot district.

Police discovered more than £1 million worth of cannabis at the farm in Mascot, Sydney, in a raid on 5 November (New South Wales Police)

Officers swooped on Thursday afternoon, seizing the plants with an estimated street value of $2.2 million, and later arresting two men after stopping their car.

A 53-year-old man from Melbourne has been charged with cultivating a large commercial quantity of a prohibited plant and using electricity without authority.

A 38-year-old man from Earlwood is accused of cultivating a large commercial quantity of a prohibited plant. Both are being held in custody.