Energy companies are being urged to join the battle against Albanian gangsters, who are flooding Scotland with cannabis farms.

Courts across the country have processed cases involving the production of tens of millions of pounds worth of powerful “skunk” - with a relentless conveyer belt of crime gang members being busted every month.

The skunk farms involve rented homes and empty business premises being ripped apart to create planting areas.

But the crucial component of a big yield is electricity - which means huge surges usage at properties, all resulting in millions of pounds of energy being stolen from the national grid.

Former top cop and MSP Graeme Pearson said he is astonished that big electricity suppliers are not involved in the disruption of the international crime groups.

He believes Scotland must establish early detection systems to give alerts to spikes in electricity usage, particularly when buildings are empty.

Cases at court usually see Albanian “gardeners”, often put in place by powerful crime bosses, claiming to have been trafficked to Scotland to become fall-guys when the cultivations are busted.

In some cases this is true and in others the gardeners are simply part of the Organised Crime Groups - which are growing every day.

It is believed that hundreds of secret skunks are churning out the illicit product in Scotland every day.

Pearson, the former Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, tried to set up systems to counter the cannabis gangs while a Scottish Labour justice spokesman in 2015.

He said: “I tried during my time as an MSP to get the energy companies interested in that side of things.

“It obviously wasn’t a business priority for them to trace these kinds of supplies.

“But when we are in an age of smart meters to check every penny of domestic supplies, surely we can track every major increase in outage that inevitably comes with a drug cultivation at a rented flat or an unoccupied business premises.

“How come, when an empty building is suddenly using an industrial amount of electricity nobody notices?

“How come these people can move into a flat, for instance, which had a previous supply of domestic and it then goes industrial and power suppliers don’t notice?

“I would like to see a discussion of ways to encourage or compel these companies to contact law enforcement when this happens and they could quickly take it up from there.”

Pearson said any conversation should first seek to establish if current systems can they see where the supply is being drawn.

He said: “If they can do it for customers they should be able to do it for criminal gangs.

“Why is it not part of their intelligence process that they pass on the information to law enforcement?”

Pearson said there is no doubt that those behind the herbal cannabis explosion are highly organised criminals.

He said: “These farms take a lot of investment. It’s costing thousands to put all the equipment and to put human beings there to act as gardeners.

“So if you’re in a position where as soon as the electricity element kicks in, you’re able to knock them out before they can gather that cannabis, you’re killing their business right at its roots.”

Pearson said that Romanians and Vietnamese gangs are now all involved in “industrial scale” cultivations.

But the Albanians have taken over and are now, he claims, threatening to destabilise Scottish communities.

He said: “These cannabis farms don’t pay the rent, they don’t pay any council tax, and they certainly don’t pay for the electricity that they’re using.

“The drug cash is augmented with state benefit fraud, which is channelled back to Albania to build houses, offices, hotels, all building a new economy over there.

“These people are generating tens of millions of pounds for themselves but they are costing taxpayers many millions to police the crime.”

Pearson said the money spent by Scots, via local networks of cannabis dealers, is funding building projects in Albania.

He said: “The Albanians are a heavy duty clique and in some way the epitome of organised crime.

“There’s a whole economy in Albania which is based on the money being sent there from the UK. And a lot of that money will come from the cannabis farms we’re seeing documented in Scottish courts right now.

“In Albania right now we have and a new society there where folk who previously just been criminals and fairly low down the pecking order economically, who are now pretty rich and apparently have an endless seam of supply.

“So it’s really changing the balance of the way their society works, and I would proffer that it’s also beginning to change the balance in the way our society works.

“This organised crime is picking apart and destabilising communities.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP supported the call for using high-tech to counter crime.

He said: “The criminal gangs are tech-savvy so law enforcement need to work hard to try and be a step ahead. It means constantly exploring how tech can be used to boost intelligence and bring people to justice.

“We know drugs gangs are often connected to a range of other serious crimes. For instance, cannabis can be cultivated by children who have been trafficked to Scotland and then held in conditions of slavery.

“We all want to see criminal gangs and skunk taken off the streets. People need to be alerted to the dark underbelly of this industry and law enforcement must have the resources they need to hit the gangs hard.”

Detective Superintendent Steven Elliott said: “Drugs, and those involved in supplying them, blight our communities and our officers work tirelessly every day to disrupt the activities of organised crime groups right across Scotland to make it even more difficult for them to exploit vulnerable people.

“These activities are also extremely dangerous as cultivations are typically found within empty and sometimes derelict buildings. “The electricity supply is often in a dangerous condition, and in one instance the road and pavement outside a property had been dug up leaving cables exposed.

“Signs that cannabis is being cultivated include the distinctive smell coming from a property, regular visits by unfamiliar people and excessive lighting or heating being used. Landlords are also urged to check utility bills for excessive usage.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson did not answer our specific question about engaging with energy companies.

The spokesperson said: “Disrupting serious organised crime is a priority for the Scottish Government and partners on the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce. 

“Partners on the Taskforce continue to use all means at their disposal to disrupt and dismantle serious organised crime and the harm it causes to individuals and communities across Scotland.

“We would urge anyone with information about serious organised crime in their area to contact the police or report it anonymously through Crimestoppers.”

(Source: Daily Record)