Police have arrested six people over an “enormous” cannabis farm discovered in an underground nuclear bunker.
The bunker at RGHQ Chilmark in Wiltshire was built in the 1980s to house and protect government officials and dignitaries in the event of a nuclear attack.
The Ministry of Defence doesn’t own the site any more, but the bunker is still intact and the nuclear blast doors are in place.
Wiltshire Police conducted a midnight raid on the bunker after gathering intelligence. As it was “almost completely impenetrable,” according to a spokesman, the police had to wait for three men to leave.
Officers say nuclear-blast doors made Chilmark bunker "almost completely impenetrable". Inside they found cannabis growing in 20 rooms. pic.twitter.com/f9UKb1YejB
— Jon Kay (@jonkay01) February 23, 2017
The three men, aged 27, 30 and 45, from Somerset, were arrested and officers used their keys to get into the bunker, where they found three more men, aged 15, 19 and 37, believed to be working as gardeners.Once inside, the police discovered thousands of cannabis plants from which the crop would fetch over £1 million.Detective Inspector Paul Franklin said: “There are approximately 20 rooms in the building, split over two floors, each 200ft long and 70ft wide.“Almost every single room had been converted for the wholesale production of cannabis plants, and there was a large amount of evidence of previous crops. This was an enormous set-up.”
Police raid nuclear bunker and discover county’s biggest cannabis factory. Read the full story on our website: https://t.co/RxwaJtMgne pic.twitter.com/nQ7ndyDSIM
— Wiltshire Police (@wiltshirepolice) February 23, 2017
He added: “This is the largest and most sophisticated cannabis factory I’ve ever experienced.”
The three men found in the bunker were arrested on suspicion of cannabis production and taken to custody in Melksham.
The three men detained outside the bunker were arrested on suspicion of cannabis production and human trafficking.
