I went on a trip and criminals turned my house into a drug factory

Charles Reeves, British and owner of a house in north London, went abroad for a long time with his family. AND, In order not to lose money, he put his property on to rent out and a brokerage contacted them and offered them a family of tenants who worked in the financial industry and even had children.

This profile reassured Charles, who finally He traveled, confident that his home would be in good hands. But he was surprised when he returned and he was not allowed in. Several men greeted him at the door and assured him that his house was in good condition.

So Charles got a warrant and when he put the keys in the lock and turned on the lights, he saw that The men were gone and there were tons of dirt on the ground.

It was found that The real estate broker was a scammer and the supposed tenants were actually criminals : they never paid the rent and They transformed the property into a culture of cannabis . The house was badly damaged and Charles’ family was in despair.

This is what happened next.

Nearly 10 tons of land on which cannabis was grown …the marijuana plant… They invaded Charles Reeves’ house. From what the man said BBC WorldWhen the police arrived at his house, They seized more than 400 plants valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars.

They also told him that It was one of the worst cases of this type of crime they had seen.

“I couldn’t believe what I saw (…) The whole place had been turned into a drug factory. “There were holes in the ceiling, cables everywhere and the smell was unbearable.”

Very affected, the man said that he felt that his house, which had been his first home, had been desecrated and that he and his wife Julia had been “destroyed and devastated”.

Julia added that This house which became a drug factory was their home for almost 20 years where they raised their son: “It’s pretty horrible to feel attacked in the center, in that inner sanctum, that place of comfort that you can trust in the city. It is our house. It is very painful”.

According to Allen Morgan, a former police officer and drug trial expert, these types of scams and crimes are on the rise. “We are seeing a marked increase in the number of criminals taking advantage of the rental market to set up illegal grow operations” he told the BBC.

“They are taking advantage of the legal system and the deportation process. They know it can take months to evict a tenant, even if they stop paying their rent. During this time, they can harvest several crops and make a significant profit, before disappearing without a trace. he explained.

For their part, the family of Charles Reeves decided to tell their story to alert families who wish to rent their property: “We want people to be aware of the risks and take all possible precautions when renting their property. “No one should have to go through what we went through.”