Drugbusters praised for seizing £20 million of cannabis

By Admin
Published 15th Nov 2022, 12:03 BST
Updated 16th Nov 2022, 11:07 BST
Temp Chief Insp Sharron Wood (centre) and Chief Constable Lauren Poultney with Lewis Coates, service manager for regulation and enforcement at RMBCTemp Chief Insp Sharron Wood (centre) and Chief Constable Lauren Poultney with Lewis Coates, service manager for regulation and enforcement at RMBC
Temp Chief Insp Sharron Wood (centre) and Chief Constable Lauren Poultney with Lewis Coates, service manager for regulation and enforcement at RMBC
A TEAM which seized £20 million of cannabis in a year has been honoured with an award celebrating the nation’s best police projects.

Operation Grow was launched in October 2021 following concerns about persistent power cuts blighting residents’ lives, as highlighted on the Advertiser’s front page.

A team of officers was assembled to respond to intelligence from power companies, the public and Rotherham Council.

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“They were able to work together to share intelligence and understand the specific locations that were causing the power outages and by-passing electricity for illegal cannabis set-ups,” said a South Yorkshire Police spokesperson.

“Since the launch of the operation, they have seized over £20.5 million of cannabis from warrants based on joint intelligence and have seen an improvement in community engagement.”

More than 120 warrants have been executed, with 50 arrests.

The spokesperson added: “They have also received no further reports of power outages since December 2021, compared with the almost daily reported outages earlier that year.”

The operation won the partners category at the 2022 Tilley Awards, which celebrate best practice among forces.