A huge 530 cannabis plant farm worth £525,000 was found in a Nottinghamshire house. Police attended the property in Upton, near Newark at around 8.40am on December 28 after receiving reports of drug activity in the area.
A haul of around 530 cannabis plants was discovered by officers during a search of the house. The drugs, which are valued at around £525,000, were growing in seven rooms across the house, powered by a dangerous bypass of the property's electrics.
All the plants were seized and will now be destroyed following the warrant, which was led by the Newark and Sherwood Operation Reacher team. Officers from the drug support team and Rushcliffe Operation Reacher team also assisted to help make the property safe and to dismantle the plants.
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PC Al Johnson, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Newark and Sherwood Operation Reacher team, said: “Planned warrants like the one executed here play a key role in helping us rid our streets of cannabis farms operating behind closed doors. Unfortunately, there is a common misconception that cannabis cultivation is a victimless crime that doesn’t harm anyone, but this just isn’t true. Organised crime groups are often behind established grows, which bring with them links to violent crime and wider criminality that we just don’t want anywhere near our areas.
“These groups trade in human misery and often exploit vulnerable people to do the dangerous roles they don’t want to do as part of these operations. Added to that, as was seen in this case, the dangerous way electricity is bypassed to power these grows is a big fire hazard that can put people in surrounding homes at risk too.
“In short, cannabis grows of this nature are nothing but trouble. The Newark and Sherwood Operation Reacher team are committed to breaking up as many cannabis grows as possible and eradicating this problem from our communities." If anyone has any information about drug activity in the Upton or Newark area, Nottinghamshire Police can be contacted on 101.
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