400 cannabis plants seized during day of action

Operation Duxford returned and arrests were made for a number of offences, including possession of drugs with intent to supply and possession of firearms.

The highly visible operation focused heavily on drugs and organised crime, and saw seven warrants executed across the district in relation to cannabis and class A drugs, leading to four arrests.

Officers also made an arrest after a man suspected of having links to an organised crime group and being under the influence of drugs was found to have cannabis and an imitation firearm in his clothing.

As well as this, Roads Policing Group (RPG) officers carried out several high visibility patrols where 24 traffic offence reports were issued for a range of reasons including no insurance, licence or MOT. They also submitted two intelligence reports and carried out two stop and searches.

Mounted officers were also highly visible across the town centre, where PH Hoyland and PH Wortley were on patrol throughout the day.

Rotherham Chief Supt Laura Koscikiewicz said: “Operation Duxford is a day of policing action that is carried out on a regular basis across the county which involves partnership working. As part of these days of action, we deliver a really high visibility policing response with our partners from Rotherham Council, Department for Work and Pensions, Immigration services and more, where we target certain types of criminality.

“Our most recent focus has been on drugs and organised crime and looking at yesterday’s results, it is clear that the day was a great success. We are aware that drug-related crime is currently a concern in Rotherham, and we have made this our priority to work closely with our partners in finding those who are responsible so that we can help to reduce the number of illegal substances that are being found on our streets.

“During one of the morning warrants that was executed, a large cannabis set-up was discovered by officers where 400 cannabis plants were seized to the value of roughly around £300,000 as part of Operation Grow, which was launched following intelligence regarding a number of illegal drugs set-ups across the district.

“These are brilliant results that I am proud to share with the Rotherham community and the rest of South Yorkshire, as we know many local residents both within the area and across the county are concerned about the number of illegal substances that are currently being found on our streets. Thanks to the help of our local communities, we have been able to crack down on this type of criminality and achieve successful results with the help of our partners.

“I would like to thank everyone who was involved in yesterday’s Operation Duxford, and I would like to thank members of the Rotherham community for your continued support. I encourage you to keep telling us about the issues that are concerning you within your area so that together, we can help keep the people of Rotherham safe.”