Behind the scenes: Cleaning up after Newcastle drug labs
It comes after the explosion of a cannabis farm in Benwell last year
The founder of a North East facilities management company is calling for stronger sentencing for drug gangs booby-trapping properties previously used as cannabis farms.
They have written to the Minister of Justice and leaders of Reform and the Conservative Party to bring the issues to their attention.
Their specialist cleaning teams are the first on the scene after police raids and evictions and say the dangers of what they are uncovering is escalating.
They are uncovering harrowing scenes where homes have been deliberately rigged to harm anyone who enters.
From syringes hidden under floorboards and inside letterboxes and a myriad of other places to electricity bypasses, open gas lines and explosive canisters left behind, the dangers are escalating.
Tony Earnshaw, founder of UK Commercial Group based in Newcastle, said: “These aren’t just squalid grow-houses – they’re potential crime scenes.
"My team have found dirty needles deliberately placed where someone could be pricked – under doormats, behind taps, stuffed into the back of plug sockets,” said Tony.
“It’s not just my staff who are at risk – it could be a police officer, a council worker, or a child who breaks in to play and doesn’t come out alive.”
With utilities often cut off, many of these homes are pitch black, further increasing the chances of serious injury or death.
Tony's warning comes in the wake of recent tragedies including the deaths of a man and a young boy in Newcastle, who died in a house fire from a cannabis farm.
He says the dangers are not hypothetical – they are lethal and growing.
“These gangs are not just growing cannabis, they are leaving behind booby-trapped death traps in residential streets or blocks of flats.
"We’ve seen live wires, overloaded sockets, and gas bottles next to flammable materials.
"There’s absolutely no regard for human life,” he added.
“This is serious organised crime that’s happening on the average UK street.
"It’s only a matter of time before we lose more lives, and not just the criminals involved, but innocent people too.”