ScottishPower attended a summit at Strathclyde Police Headquarters today (Friday 12 December) to discuss the ongoing subject of large scale cannabis cultivations, law enforcement response and the role the business community can play in assisting the police with the issue.

ScottishPower has supported the efforts of the police for a number of years and works closely with them in order help detect cannabis factories - which often use illegal and dangerous connections to the electricity network in order to attempt to bypass detection.

Speaking after the event, Ian Main, Protection Officer at ScottishPower said:  "We are committed in our support of the police in their crackdown on cannabis cultivation in Scotland.

“One of the key components required to operate a cannabis factory is electricity, which is needed in large quantities. In our experience, the electricity being used is not recorded through the meter and will usually be illegally diverted, normally from a separate supply taken from the main incoming supply.

“It is incredibly dangerous to tamper with the electricity network, and with the large amount of electricity being stolen and no proper protection at the installation, the risk of fire is very high."

Media Information: Paul Ferguson, 0141 566 4515 / 07702 665 924