THOUSANDS of cannabis plants have been seized and 21 people arrested in Warwickshire as part of nationwide police operation.
Over 2,500 plants were seized in the county as part of Operation Mille, which involved the raiding of 1,000 cannabis grows across the country to disrupt organised crime groups and their illegal revenue streams.
Police targeted criminal networks involved in drug dealing, immigration crime and money laundering, focusing on large-scale cannabis cultivations – a key source of their income.
Officers seized 207 cannabis plants from a house in Brese Avenue in Warwick on June 15. A man was arrested and later charged with producing cannabis.
On the same day, 140 plants were found in a raid at a house in Charlotte Street in Leamington after a utility company raised suspicions that cannabis was being grown there.
On June 26, 135 plants were seized from a house in Bedworth, and four days later 119 plants were found when a house in Beech Grove in Warwick was raided. A man was arrested and charged with producing cannabis.
Ch Insp Steve Malone from Warwickshire Police Force Intelligence said: “There are a lot of drug dealers substantially out of pocket because of this operation.
“Many of these warrants were executed thanks to information provided by our communities and this continues to be vital in helping us to tackle serious and organised crime.”
He said the the cultivation of cannabis was run by crime groups who exploit vulnerable people and ‘bring about untold misery’ in communities, and raised money which supported other serious crimes such as cocaine supply and firearms trafficking.
“When the criminals move on, they leave premises in a dangerous and unusable state,” he added.
“We know that other groups will look to move in off the back of this disruption. If you have any information about the production or dealing of drugs, please let us know. We can’t act on every piece of information, but it helps to provide us with a better picture of the problem areas and allows to focus our resources.”
Visit www.warwickshire.police.uk/report or call 101 to report suspicious activity.
