12-07-2025
Infamous Operation Julie house in Powys up for sale
A Powys house that was at the centre of the infamous Operation Julie is on the market in what is being described as a rare opportunity.
Plas Llysyn in Carno which was the centre of one of the UK's biggest ever drug busts, Operation Julie, is on the market for the first time in years.
Powys was at the centre of police attention after chemist Richard Kemp -who was one of the three men involved in 90 per cent of the LSD production in the UK - was involved in a fatal car crash near Machynlleth in 1975.
When police searched his car, they found six pieces of paper which when put together spelt hydrazine hydrate - a key ingredient in the manufacture of LSD.
This led to Kemp being put under surveillance where they found he was travelling between his home in Tregaron and Plas Llysyn which was then owned by an American friend Paul Joseph Arnaboldi.
Police later broke into Plas Llsyn and tested water samples which chemically matched LSD samples the police had.
On 26 March 1977, after 13 months of surveillance, Operation Julie officers swooped on 87 homes in Wales and England, the gang leaders were caught and a total of 120 suspects were arrested. Plas Llysyn in Carno was the centre of one of the UK's biggest ever drug busts (Image: Zoopla/Morris, Marshall and Poole)
At Plas Lysyn, laboratory equipment was dug out of a well on the property.
Now the infamous property is on the market and Morris, Marshall and Poole who are handling the sale said the property was 'a rare opportunity".
The Grade II Listed Period Residence 'dates back to the early 1800s and was divided into three separate dwellings in 1977 having being a hotel for a period in the late 1960s'.
Plas Llysyn is described as having 'great potential' with the house 'in need of complete refurbishment' but that it 'provides spacious well-proportioned accommodation on two floors comprising two reception rooms, a large kitchen, utility, four double bedrooms and two washroom facilities'.
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Morris, Marshall and Poole add that 'Inside, there are a wealth of character and period features including timber wall panelling, fireplaces, moulded ceilings and bay window seats to name but a few.
'A particular feature of the property are the extensive grounds which extend to around 2.54 acres and comprise a large lawn area and woodland with a stream running through.
'Within the grounds there is an old pond (currently overgrown) which the seller informs us is thought to have originally been a mill pond which offers potential to be reclaimed along with the rest of the gardens.'
