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[bobf <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>]

Think if you are doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about from 
the gov't.  They kicked in this guys door and all he had was a woodstove.
This is rural UK, but thuis stuff happens here, too, and the police love 
no-knock raids.

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Police turn up heat on 'cannabis factory' seen by thermal camera  ... only to 
find workshop STOVE

By Chris Brooke

Last updated at 7:34 AM on 27th February 2009

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When an infra-red camera on the police helicopter identified a suspicious 
heat pattern coming from Colin Rowe's workshop, officers were convinced it 
was the site of a cannabis factory.
They obtained the necessary search warrant and forced the door to raid the 
property while the owner was out.
But instead of finding an illicit drugs operation, the officers discovered 
nothing more sinister than a wood-burning stove.

  Upset: Colin Rowe with the door police smashed, left, and the workshop 
stove, which, as a heat source, led police to believe Mr Rowe was growing 
cannabis

The heat source police regarded as highly suspicious was simply a stove used 
to warm the garage workshop where Mr Rowe restores cars in his spare time.

Not surprisingly Mr Rowe was furious when he returned home to find the 
damaged door and the warrant, which had been posted through his letterbox 
without an apology.

'I find it quite disturbing that Wild West Yorkshire Police can do what they 
want. I think it is disgraceful, I didn't think the police would treat anyone 
like this without good reason,' he said.
'My dad was a police officer for 40 years and he's disgusted about this.' 

College technician Mr Rowe, 41, who has no previous convictions, added:'I 
think it's a pretty poor way for them to behave given that I'm not the sort 
of person who's known to the police.'

Commenting on the damage, he said:'There was a big hole in the door which was 
large enough to get your arm through, the hinges were bent, there were bits 
of wood on the floor and one of my plant pots was broken.

'There was a brush and shovel right by the door so, if they'd had any 
compassion, they would have at least swept up the mess.'

Mr Rowe went to his local police station in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, to 
complain and spoke to the policewoman who applied for the warrant. She said a 
police helicopter 'had noted the heat source from my home.'
It appears Mr Rowe's sensible crime prevention measures may have also 
heightened the police's suspicions.

'She said they sent a patrol to my house and found I had bars on the windows 
at the back. That's to prevent burglary - I don't think it's excessive.

'I've been given a form to claim compensation and I hope the police will pay 
for the damage.'

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed officers executed a drugs warrant 
at 9.45 am last Friday. 'During the execution of the warrant a door to an 
external building was forced. Officers located no drugs and arrangements were 
made for the door to be left secure.

'No entry was made by officers into the main house itself. It is standard 
policy that we will pay for repairs in such circumstances and we would be 
happy to discuss any concerns Mr Rowe has.'

Mr Rowe shares the house with wife Beth, a 40-year-old health visitor. The 
door has cost £200 to repair and he has had to take time off work because of 
the police raid.

He said he had taken a car restoration course and enjoyed doing DIY jobs in 
the workshop at the back of the garage. Mr Rowe said police sent to 
investigate his premises claimed they could smell cannabis at the back.
They were also suspicious that he had bars on the windows, which were painted 
so no one could see inside. 

'That's because I have expensive tools in there and it's a sensible crime 
prevention measure,' he said. 

'I was astonished they carried out this raid, I don't see how they had 
sufficient evidence to get a search warrant.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1156763/Police-turn-heat-cannabis-factory-seen-thermal-camera---workshop-STOVE.html#comments