POLICE in Coventry have seized 1,500 cannabis plants worth around £1.5million after carrying out a number of raids in the past week.
Weapons were also seized in the swoops as police – acting on intelligence provided by communities – took the fight against drugs to organised crime groups in the city.
Among the weapons were five knives and a homemade spear.
The drug dens are suspected of being used to fund organised crime gangs and this action forms part of the force’s efforts to combat their illegal activities.
Neighbourhood officers carried out raids at properties in St George’s Road, Marlborough Road, Aldbourne Road, Windmill Road, Marlston Walk, Freeman Street and Winchester Street – including several addresses in some streets.
Four foreign nationals aged between 21 and 42 have been charged with cultivation of cannabis and have been remanded while other immigration enquiries are completed.
Further investigations are also being carried out around those linked to the drug farms.
Ch Insp Paul Southern, from Coventry Police, said: “This forms part of our ongoing efforts to dismantle drug dens which we believe are connected to wider crime groups.
“They are not only illegal, but dangerous, with the set ups to bypass electricity a real fire threat. A significant blaze could put the safety of others living nearby at risk.
“We often find people are trafficked and exploited to front these farms and we’re striving to break the chain by catching those at the heart of these criminal enterprises.
“We will take any information we receive from the public seriously and would urge anyone who believes a cannabis farm is operating near them to inform us.”
This can be done via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk or by calling 101. Alternatively call the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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