A cannabis factory was
found in the grounds of a mental hospital, police have confirmed.
Detectives unexpectedly
found 30 illegal plants in a disused ward in Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff,
while searching for a missing person.
It is believed the dealer
or gang responsible had also hooked up powerful ultraviolet lights and
ventilators powered by the hospital's electricity supply.
A police spokesman said:
"South Wales Police can confirm a cannabis factory of around 30 plants was
discovered within the grounds of Whitchurch Hospital in Cardiff."
The hidden factory was
discovered when police were searching for a missing person on June 30.
Officers entered a former
ward in the hospital's main building - which had been boarded up and isolated
for decades - before finding the cannabis.
While hospital security
guards make regular patrols, it is believed they do not enter any of the
boarded up buildings on the site.
Cardiff and Vale
University Health Board, which runs the hospital site, said it was doing all it
could to help the police with their investigation.
Abigail Harris, the
health board's director of planning, said: "We would like to reassure the
public the health board's security teams carry out regular patrols of all our
sites.
"This has happened
in a small corner of a big hospital in an area that was sealed and unused for
many, many years. It is a highly unusual and isolated case which is being
carefully reviewed with police.
"The health board is
doing all we can to support the investigation and find those responsible.
"We would encourage
anyone with information about this incident to contact the police."
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