LONDON (Reuters) – The first cannabis nursery has been found in London’s historic financial district, where office buildings have been cleared due to lockdowns to stem the spread of COVID-19, British police said Wednesday.
City of London police said 826 cannabis plants were found in a building near the Bank of England. Police said there were reports of a “strong cannabis odor” leading to the raid.
“This is the city’s first cannabis plant, undoubtedly set up in response to fewer people on the road during the pandemic who noticed potentially unusual activity,” police said in a statement.
Home to the world’s largest commercial insurance market, banks and fund managers, the City of London has been largely abandoned since March after most employees were asked to work from home.
At an online event on Wednesday, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said people are likely to joke about what central bank staff have done.
“We will now be the subject of endless jokes about ‘now we know what the Bank of England has done’,” he said. ‘I’m sure there will be many more jokes. It’s very quiet around the Bank of England, I should say. “
Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Paul Simao