Officers have warned of the dangers of growing cannabis after hundreds of plants were discovered above a shop.
Police were called to the high street in Middle Gate, Newark, after receiving reports that a shop window had been smashed.
Once inside the building, officers investigated further by searching a flat located upstairs, where they then made a shocking discovery.
Three full rooms full of cannabis were found growing across the flat, with officers counting as many as 466 plants in total.
The building also had electricity dangerously bypassed to power the large grow of plants, which were all seized by police.
Following the discovery of the secret cannabis farm at around 9.15am on Monday (24 October), officers have issued a strong warning to the public.
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.
“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.
“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 24 October 2022, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
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