EIGHT weeks' worth of electricity was stolen to power an elaborate hydroponic cannabis operation south of Innisfail, police allege.
A man, 46, will appear in Innisfail Magistrates' Court on July 7 charged with a string of drug offences after police raided a home at Cowley Beach last week.
Far Northern Drug Squad Det Sen-Sgt Mick Dowie said a "sophisticated" hydroponic cannabis set-up was found in a room under the house.
Just nine plants were seized but they weighed 36kg and were "very high yielding", he said.
"It was a very good set-up," Sen-Sgt Dowie said. "The plants were in excellent condition.
"I'd suggest there'd been quite a bit of money invested into the equipment, into the lab."
About 630g of dried and packaged cannabis sativa were also found in the home.
Sen-Sgt Dowie alleged the production also was illegally using electricity to run powerful lights over the cannabis and Ergon Energy staff were called in to dismantle the power network.
"That obviously creates a serious safety risk to our police where we believe they've turned all the power off yet there's still a live feed of electricity coming around the power switches," he said.
The drug squad has shut down about 10 hydroponic cannabis operations in the past year.
The largest was a laboratory and 100 plants in a secluded shed at East Trinity, across the inlet from Cairns, which was discovered in February.
Three other hydroponic set-ups, including one operating in a secret bunker in a Smithfield home, were found during the same investigation.
