Pair handcuffed and led out of former Greenock care home

Two men were led away from the Mariners’ building on Newark Street in handcuffs following an apparent hour-long ‘standoff ’ yesterday morning.

The dramatic swoop - conducted after a convoy of nearly two dozen police vehicles moved in – comes just three weeks after a £3.6m marijuana farm was discovered in Greenock town centre.

The grounds of Sir Gabriel Wood’s Mariners’ Home, which has lain empty for around three years, were sealed off, with the main building completely surrounded by police, who used dogs and a drone during the operation.

Stunned onlookers watched as the fleet of both marked and unmarked police vehicles snaked along Union Street with blue lights flashing as the operation swung into action.

Officers stood watch outside the former care home for more than an hour, before a team were spotted leading the two arrested men out in handcuffs.

Eyewitnesses reported hearing what sounded like doors being battered when police first arrived at the scene.

One onlooker, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Tele: “I’ve never seen so many police in the one place, it was like something out of an action film

“There was a lot of activity at first but then the police just seemed to be staying put outside the building.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if something was going on in there because the home’s been sitting empty for so long.”

Another eyewitness said: “It’s sat empty for years and then suddenly this morning it’s the busiest place in the town.

“You could see warm, orange lights switched on in one of the rooms on the first floor. 

“There were police everywhere, I would say I saw at least five vans and loads of unmarked cars and you could hear that drone whirring overhead the whole time.

“There were also police cars driving round the area periodically while the officers stood all around the main building.

"They must have been watching in case the people inside tried to make a run for it.

“It was like in the old Western films when the sheriff and his men surround the saloon - a proper standoff.”

The Telegraph told last month how three men were charged in connection with Inverclyde's biggest ever drugs bust after police found cannabis plants worth £3.6 million in a Greenock town centre raid.

Officers swooped on premises on West Stewart Street as part of an intelligence-led operation and uncovered the giant marijuana farm.

It is understood that the arrested men, aged 37, 32 and 25, are Albanian nationals.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said of yesterday's raid: “Two men, aged 29 and 36, have been arrested following a pre-planned operation in Greenock.

“On Wednesday 14 February 2024, officers acting under warrant entered a property on Newark Street and discovered a cannabis cultivation.

“Enquiries are ongoing.”