A persistent policing team shut down a cannabis farm before carrying out a sting to arrest a suspect.
Gedling Operation Reacher officers executed a warrant in Mansfield Road, Woodthorpe, following reports a property was being used to house drugs.
After forcing entry inside the address, a search was carried out that quickly confirmed the suspicions about the house were indeed correct.
They found a sophisticated multi-room set up, across two floors, with around 50 cannabis plants discovered growing in two rooms and another two rooms having been recently cropped with the product bagged up in the property.
All the cannabis was seized by the officers.
The electricity was also found to have been bypassed during the warrant on 24 October, which was supported by officers from the Gedling Neighbourhood Policing team.
All the plants and growing equipment were seized or taken out of commission by officers.
After finding nobody home during the raid, the Operation Reacher team did not give up on catching those responsible and carried out some intelligence-led inquiries that linked an address and vehicle to the Mansfield Road property elsewhere in the county.
They then arranged and carried out a plain clothed operation two days later (on 26 October) in the Bingham area that resulted in a 42-year-old man being detained.
The suspect was arrested for producing cannabis and abstracting electricity without authority.
Sergeant James Carrington, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Gedling Operation Reacher team, said:
“Our officers showed great tenacity after receiving that initial intelligence about potential drug activity from the public.
“A lot of work went into following up these suspicions, and then confirming them further down the line after a sophisticated multi-room cannabis grow was discovered.
“Despite nobody being inside the address during the raid, the team then set up and carried out a plain clothed sting within 48 hours that ultimately led to us arresting a suspect.
“We’re committed as a team to doing whatever we can to tackle potential drug activity in our communities, and that includes shutting down cannabis farms like this.
“This was a great example of the work Operation Reacher does force-wide, and the tenacious work the teams do to pursue and capture those individuals causing harm in our communities. You can run, but you can’t hide. You will be caught.”
Sgt Carrington added:
“It has been said before but the production of cannabis is in no way a victimless crime, with these grows often having links to wider criminality and resulting in vulnerable people being exploited.
“The way electricity is bypassed to power these grows also presents a very real fire risk for neighbouring properties, which is not acceptable either.
“We would urge anyone with any information about drug production or dealing in their area to always call the police on 101, or report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
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