More than £7m of cannabis plants seized in Leicestershire

In total, more than 9,200 plants were seized.

A Leicestershire Police operation has resulted in cannabis plants with a street value of more than £7m being seized.

Throughout June, 47 searches took place across the county, including West Leicester, the city centre, Leicester Forest East, Birstall and Syston. This included 35 warrants which were executed under Section 8 or Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

In total, more than 9,200 plants were seized. The largest grow, which consisted of 1,248, was located in East Leicester.

Detective Chief Inspector Rob Arthur, the senior investigating officer, said: “The production of cannabis – which is a category B and illegal drug – is an issue across the country. Here in Leicestershire, we joined colleagues and partners from across the UK by taking part in Operation Mille in order to identify and disrupt those responsible.

“Those behind the grows often have little regard for the safety and welfare of others.”

“It’s important to remember that the illegal production of cannabis – which often involves vast amounts of electrical equipment like lighting and heating – poses a serious risk to the public. Criminals don’t want to be detected and so more often than not, this equipment is connected in a way that poses a serious fire hazard.

“There is also another human side to this offending, with the creation and maintenance of large scale grows often linked with exploitation and forced labour.

“I’m absolutely delighted that our month of enforcement, which saw teams from across the force area working together utilising community intelligence, resulted in more than 9,200 plants being recovered by officers.

“But, as well as stopping the plants from making it to our streets, we’ve also identified those behind the grows and charged 29 people, as well as referring 10 people into the national referral mechanism which can support people who are victims of slavery.”

During the operation police also found equipment used in the cultivation of cannabis, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds and more than £21,000 in cash.

In total, forty people were arrested on suspicion of in connection with the cultivation of cannabis and twenty-nine people have subsequently been charged