A man and woman have been remanded in custody after more than 250 plants were seized during a drug raid at Miners Rest on Monday morning.
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The Ballarat Divisional Response Unit carried out the search warrant at 103 Howe Street as part of its ongoing investigation into commercial cannabis grow houses.
It follows two more major busts at properties in Wendouree in the last two weeks.
Altogether more than 500 plants have been seized by the DRU in the past 11 days.
The two accused, Tra Nquyen and Duy Cao, both appeared before the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Monday afternoon.
Neither spoke English, so a Vietnamese interpreter was used to explain the details of the filing hearing.
The court heard police received information about the suspected grow house a month ago, with vehicles allegedly seen coming and going from the property and the blinds of the house always down.
On Monday morning police found the entrance to the Howe Street address firmly barricaded, with both accused running from the house as police entered.
Both were arrested and charged with cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis following a short foot chase.
The court heard approximately 250 mature plants were located over seven rooms and another 84 juvenile plants in another.
Nguyen, a Sunshine resident living in Australia on a student visa, and Cao were remanded to reappear in court for a committal mention on February 2 next year.
Ballarat Divisional Response Unit Sergeant Kori Fraser said the hydroponic set-up was similar to those found at the two Wendouree drug houses, which included lights, timers and automatic watering.
“We’re targeting these cannabis grow houses, and every (grow house) we find we’re going to process and either arrest the people that are there or (arrest the people) that are linked to the house down the track,” Sergeant Fraser said.
“We are finding the grow houses, we are (making) arrests and we are taking the drugs off the streets.”
DRU officers spent Monday morning dissembling the Miners Rest operation, lining the plants in the garage to take photos and loading evidence into a truck.
Powercor trucks were also at the scene and had disconnected the power and made the area safe by late morning.
“If anyone has any information in relation to what they think is a cannabis grow house, or any suspicious activity, either call Crime Stoppers or the police station,” Sergeant Fraser said.
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Ballarat Police on 5336 6000.
