Chiayi residential house converted into high-tech cannabis greenhouse

Police in Taiwan have dismantled a high-tech cannabis cultivation operation located inside a residential house in Chiayi City. Authorities from the Third Narcotics Crime Investigation Brigade, working with Kaohsiung and Chiayi police, conducted two waves of searches after receiving intelligence regarding the site.

Investigators discovered a sophisticated greenhouse setup within the ordinary-looking house, featuring automated timed lighting, air conditioning, and high-power plant growth lamps to optimize the growing environment. A key aspect of the operation involved a suspect identified as a ‘drug production instructor,’ who allegedly taught another suspect how to use the ‘cutting method’ to propagate cannabis. This technique allowed the suspects to expand a single plant into 67 live plants over approximately five months.

During the raids, police seized 67 live cannabis plants along with equipment and other narcotics, including ecstasy, ketamine, and drug coffee packets. The total black market value of the seized substances is estimated to exceed NT$20 million. The suspects have been referred to the Chiayi District Prosecutors Office for prosecution under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act.