‘Our house was turned into a cannabis farm while Dad was in hospital’
Our house was turned into a cannabis farm while Dad was in hospital
Our house was turned into a cannabis - Yehia Hassan, a 78-year-old man with diabetes who relies on a wheelchair, has faced a severe decline in his health since discovering his cherished home in Luton had been stripped bare by renters. The family feared his reaction to the chaos, as the front room now lies in ruins—its furniture shattered, the space littered with debris. “It was perfect in here,” Hassan says, his voice trembling. “I just don’t know how people can do this to someone else’s property. It’s the only place I have.”
Cannabis crooks dumped 10 tonnes of soil in my bedroom
Hassan’s terraced house was transformed into a cannabis factory during his hospital stay in Egypt. Police raids at the property and a neighboring address revealed hundreds of plants, yet the individuals responsible remain unidentified. His front door was damaged during the search, a stark symbol of the destruction. According to figures shared with the BBC, thousands of cannabis farms have been uncovered by law enforcement across England in the past three years. In Bedfordshire alone, the street value of seized plants has reached £6 million during the same period.
"All my life I have worked for this house. It’s going to cost tens of thousands of pounds to put everything right." — Yehia Hassan
A retired foster parent, Hassan explained he had rented the property to a local business owner, who in turn sublet it to others. “I really trusted the guy,” he said. “He said he was going to look after the place. But honestly, I don’t know who I can trust any more.” The criminals bored holes in walls for ventilation, hung heavy lights from ceilings, and removed a fence panel to link the home with a third property. The back garden, once a peaceful space, now looks like a landfill, with seed trays, lumber, and empty bottles scattered across the ground.
Then and now: Hassan's dining room was torn apart to make room for dozens of cannabis plants
Hassan is currently living with his ex-wife and receiving support from his 19-year-old daughter, Razan. “I was due to go to university, but have put that on hold to sort this out,” she says. “There is still no power because the renters rewired everything and were stealing electricity from the entire street.” The family learned of the police action through a Facebook post, which showed their home had been “decimated.” “It came as such a shock because the person who was renting it from us had called two weeks earlier saying everything was fine,” Razan added. “His attempts to redecorate have been lazy at best. Holes were barely filled, the paint job was limited and messy, and there were still pots of cannabis culture in the master bedroom.”
"I was due to go to university, but have put that on hold to sort this out." — Razan Hassan
The BBC reached out to the businessman who rented the property, who claims he had sublet it to a builder. “He paid the rent on time, and I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t checking on the property,” he said. “I’m not an estate agent. At the end of the day, these things happen and I’m a few thousand pounds out of pocket myself.” The BBC has chosen not to name him. Bedfordshire Police emphasized that while no suspects have been identified, they are collaborating with the family to explore new leads. “We have a dedicated team to tackle this element of organised crime and recently secured our first conviction of an individual who illegally sublet a property for the cultivation of cannabis,” said Det Insp Simon Mullan. “Estate agents are unregulated, which is one of the big problems, and criminals are exploiting this industry for their own ends.”