Nottinghamshire Police have discovered hundreds of cannabis plants being grown above a shop in Newark. Officers were called to Middle Gate, Newark, shortly after 9am Monday, October 24, after receiving reports that a shop window had been smashed.
Once inside the building, the officers then investigated further by searching a flat upstairs, where they discovered three rooms full of cannabis which was being grown across the flat. As many as 466 plants were counted by police officers, and the plants have been seized.
Electricity was bypassed at the flat to power the cannabis farm. Inspector Matt Ward, district commander for Newark and Sherwood, said: “Thanks to the instinctive actions of our officers in deciding to investigate this property further, we have been able to dismantle a cannabis grow that looked an accident waiting to happen.
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“As these pictures clearly show, the haphazard way that electricity was bypassed to fuel this grow was incredibly dangerous and irresponsible in the extreme. When you consider the close proximity of this address to other buildings next to it on the high street, a fire caused by this illicit enterprise could’ve easily spread and put other people at risk.
“It’s for this kind of reason why we take such a strong stance on anyone looking to cultivate cannabis in our communities. There is a common misconception that growing cannabis is a victimless crime but this just isn’t true as it can put people in danger."
He continued: "In addition to being a fire hazard, cannabis cultivation and drug dealing also typically has links to wider criminality and often involves vulnerable people being exploited to carry out dangerous roles. We don’t want this kind of activity on our streets, so we’d ask anyone who is aware of any such operations to get in contact with the police as soon as possible.” Anyone with any information about the cannabis grow in Middle Gate is asked to call the police on 101, quoting incident 136 of October 24. Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555111.
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