Over £2million cannabis seized following national operation

Update from Humberside Police:

Twenty-nine people have been arrested, and twenty-five of those subsequently charged and remanded after officers seized an estimated £2,160,200 worth of cannabis in our area as a part of a national operation involving all 43 police forces to dismantle cannabis farms operated by organised crime groups across the country.  

Since Thursday 1 June, ramping up the efforts, officers from our Operation Galaxy team, Neighbourhood Policing teams, Major Crime, Roads Policing, Intelligence, police dogs and handlers, Economic Crime and various other departments have been working with forces across the country to target and tackle the gangs operating in our area.

As a part of the co-ordinated response, officers executed warrants at 28 properties in a number of locations across the force area including:

• Moorwell Road, Fox Street, Sheffield Street, Doncaster Road, Marlowe Road, Grange Lane South, Queen Street in Scunthorpe.
• Brookyln Street, Louie Street, Plane Street, Croyland Avenue, Hessle Road, York Street, Thoresby Street, Ryde Avenue, Park Road in Hull.
• Dudley Street and Castle Street Grimsby.
• Carlile Street, Goole and Stamford Bridge in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Whilst searching the properties during the month-long intensification period, officers recovered 4321 cannabis plants of varying yield, weapons including a friction lock baton, handmade spear and an air rifle. Electricity had also been abstracted illegally at 21 of the premises across the force area.

Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Gawthorpe said: “This has been a vast operation, taking months in the planning and gathering of intelligence and information.

“Tackling drug crimes within the Humberside force area is a priority for us as it has a big impact on local communities, anti-social and disruptive behaviour often follows drug use and dealing.

“The community impact this type of offending has is the reason we will continue to do everything we can to disrupt these criminal networks, removing them, and the drugs they supply and distribute, from our streets.

“Importantly the operation also opened windows of opportunity for us together with the wider Community Safety Partnership to identify and safeguard vulnerable members of the community targeted by these gangs”.

Across the Yorkshire region, with assistance from the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YH ROCU) over £5.3 million of cannabis has been seized as a result of the 141 search warrants.

Detective Superintendent Fiona Gaffney, deputy head of the YH ROCU, led the response in Yorkshire and the Humber. She said:

“We targeted these criminal networks who were involved in drug dealing, immigration crime and money laundering as part of a coordinated approach to disrupting their activities and bringing them to justice.

“Working with police in all four Yorkshire and Humber forces, as well as our partner agencies, we were able to tackle the large-scale cultivation of cannabis which is a key source of illicit income for organised gangs.

“There’s a clear link between serious crime and those involved in cannabis cultivation. The drugs trade fuels gang violence as groups compete for territory. They hunt out the opposition and cause misery in our communities.”

We would always encourage you to report any offences to us so we can build the bigger picture and take action.

You can provide information to the charity Crimestoppers completely anonymously on 0800 555111, or on their website www.crimestoppers.org.uk

To keep up with the latest Op Galaxy updates, make sure to follow @HumberBeat on Facebook and Twitter and follow #OpGalaxy or you can register for our My Community Alert system.