Search icon
Download the all-new Republic app:

Published 20:05 IST, March 4th 2020

Australia: Girl's prank call to police accidentally exposes mother's cannabis crop

In Australia, a five-year-old's prank call to police leads authorities to her mother's stash of cannabis plants in the garage. 15 cannabis plants were recovered

Reported by: Shubham Bose
null | Image: self

A five-year old's prank call to the police accidentally alerted the cops to her mother's stash of cannabis plants. A young girl from Albion Park Rail, Shellharbour dialled the Australia police emergency number, which is 000 on March 3. According to reports, the call seemed urgent enough that the operator decided to send officers to the caller's house.

15 cannabis plant found

According to reports, the young girl called the police at 12:10 am. It is still unclear what the girl said on the call but the operator still decided to dispatch officers to the caller's address in an effort to ensure everything is fine. As per reports, Lake Illawarra Police District Sergeant Peter Northey stated that the exchange on the phone call was serious enough that the operator deemed it fit to send police.

After the incident, it was determined that the caller was just making a prank call. According to reports, after arriving at the caller's Elm Street residence the police did not hear a response from the residents. The officers' suspicion grew when they saw a light in the garage down the side of the house.

Read: Malawi Legalizes Cannabis Cultivation For Certain Uses

Read: J-K Institute, Canadian Firm Sign Pact On Cannabis Medicinal Project

Reports further quoted Sergeant Northey say that after seeing the light in the Garage the officers went down the garage in order to check on the condition of the residents and ensure that no one was under duress. After entering the garage the officer found the illegal cannabis plants. 

Read: Jammu And Kashmir Institute, Canadian Firm Sign Pact On Cannabis Research

Read: Amsterdam Could Ban Tourist From Buying Cannabis Under Strict New Rules

The authorities recovered 15 cannabis plants in a hydroponic set-up. All the plants were seized by the police. The five-year old's mother was arrested and is now cooperating with the police with their investigation. Reports indicate that the mother will be charged with cultivating a small quantity of cannabis. Sergeant also added that in his 18 years of policing, this incident was the first of its kind for him but he is glad that it happened.

Updated 20:05 IST, March 4th 2020

LIVE TV

Republic TV is India's no.1 English news channel since its launch.