Police seize £1m worth of cannabis in raids

Drugs with an estimated street value of more than £1m have been seized in raids across the region, police have said.

More than 2,500 cannabis plants, along with weapons including machetes, were seized in Hull, Scunthorpe and Grimsby between 17 and 23 February, Humberside Police said.

The raids were part of a nationwide operation to tackle cannabis farms operated by organised crime groups.

Nine of 10 people arrested have since been charged with a range of offences, including the cultivation of cannabis and abstracting electricity without authority, police said.

Det Ch Insp Chris Swaby, leading the investigation, said tackling drug crime was a priority.

"The community impact this type of offending has is the reason we will continue to do everything we can to disrupt these criminal networks... and safeguard vulnerable members of the community targeted by these gangs."

Police raided 14 properties, including in Ellerburn Avenue and Beverley Road, Hull, Haven Avenue in Grimsby and Fox Street in Scunthorpe.

The drugs seized were estimated to be valued at £1,342,500, officers said.

The operation was coordinated by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, which covers the Humberside Police area, as well as West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and North Yorkshire.

Det Supt Fiona Gaffney, the unit's deputy head, said officers had conducted a total of 58 warrants throughout the region, adding raids had "significantly disrupted" the distribution of cannabis.

She said: "Commercial cannabis production is heavily connected to wider criminality. These people routinely use serious violence and the threat of it to protect their trade."

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