EYES IN THE SKY JOIN THE WAR ON DRUGS

POLICE are using heat-seeking cameras strapped to aircraft in a bid
to spot drug factories.

The thermal imaging technology is used to hone in on unusual
concentrations of heat, allowing the police to spot likely locations
of suspicious hydroponic growing equipment - powerful bulbs which can
run at between 400 and 5,000 watts.

Hampshire's Boxer aircraft is fitted with heat-sensitive equipment,
which police confirmed is used in Hampshire as a weapon in cornering
drugs gangs.

Milne Rowntree, a policeman with 26 years' experience, said it was a
valuable tool in the police's arsenal.

'Most forces with aeroplanes or helicopters now use infra-red sensors
to detect heat, and using the thermal imaging equipment you can see
vehicles, people, or where earth has recently been disturbed,' he said.

'They're used against drugs because people will grow them in their
roof space or on the tops of tower blocks, and use hot natural-type
lights to hurry the growth on.

'You'd see it used alongside other intelligence like tip-offs. It's
one of the most effective technological parts of the array of
equipment used by police today.'

The news comes a day after police stormed a drugs factory in Portsmouth.

The drama unfurled shortly after dawn yesterday when 10 officers
surrounded the terraced property in Byerley Road, Fratton.

At 8.05am officers broke down the door using a battering ram. Inside
they found a cannabis farm of more than 200 plants.

Three rooms of the normal-looking two-up-two-down home were being
used for the intensive production of marijuana. The plants ranged
from one foot to five feet high.

Police would not confirm whether the spotter plane was used to spot
this factory.

Officers had initially estimated the house contained 100 of the drug
plants, but a more detailed inspection revealed twice as many.

Also seized was a large quantity of high-powered light bulbs as well
as reflective panels, fans, dehumidifiers, electrical equipment and
bamboo rods.

With the factory busted, the plants could be smelt across the street.

One 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis.