Two people have appeared in court after a drugs bust led to the discovery of cannabis plants in two houses.
The warrants came as Operation Reacher continues to keep up the pace by acting on intelligence which has seen more than 2,000 suspects arrested or dealt with and over 870 drug seizures in the last year – since it was rolled out to all 12 neighbourhood policing areas across Nottinghamshire.
Around 70 plants were seized when police forced their way into neighbouring properties in Tenbury Crescent, Aspley.
Police arrested two people at the scene and were later charged in connection with the discovery.
Anxhela Veliu, 24, and Mario Veaoe, 27, both of Tenbury Crescent, Aspley, appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (26 October) charged with production of cannabis.
They were both remanded in custody until their next appearance at Nottingham Crown Court on 23 November.
• Operation Reacher by Numbers: Hundreds of offences dealt with in a year of policing op
The City West Neighbourhood Policing Team executed the warrant, assisted by Response and Operation Reacher teams.
The raids on Monday (25 October) took place a year after Nottinghamshire Police deployed 11 new Operation Reacher teams – bringing the total number to 12 – each with a responsibility to proactively target local criminals and build stronger community relationships.
Building on the success of the original Bestwood Reacher team, the additional units have been on the front foot all year – carrying out early morning raids on suspected drug dealers, hunting wanted suspects, taking illegal vehicles off the streets and visibly patrolling in local neighbourhoods.
In their first full year the teams arrested or dealt with 2,026 suspects, seized £619,000 in suspected illicit cash, and made 874 different drug seizures.
They also took 423 weapons and 569 illegal cars off the streets, and also carried out 672 searches at the homes and hiding places of suspected offenders.
Importantly, they have also attended or host 958 different community engagement events, and developed 2,205 community intelligence reports.
Inspector Gordon Fenwick said the latest drugs raid was further evidence that Nottinghamshire Police simply won’t tolerate the production of cannabis in our communities.
He said: “Our proactive warrant in this instance is another demonstration of the robust action we will take to tackle issues which matter to people such as drug crime.
“Proactive operations like this one are just a small part of the preventative work that we are doing to tackle crime in our communities.
“We want residents to know that we are here for them, so come and speak to us. If you have any issues, we can look at them. We want you to get to know us and see that we’re taking action to make things better for you.
“If you spot something out of the ordinary in your area or if you have any information regarding any criminal issues in your area, don’t hesitate to call us on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency call 999.”
