Seven people arrested in series of cannibis raids

Seven people have been arrested in a series of coordinated raids on cannabis farms in the north east.

Officers from Northumbria Police’s Total Policing Task Force raided four addresses in South Tyneside and Gateshead as part of Operation Robot. Officers from the Cleveland Police Organised Crime Unit carried out simultaneous strikes at two addresses in Middlesbrough.

Five cannabis farms have been dismantled and a total of 2,500 plants recovered with an estimated street value of £500,000. Detective Superintendent Peter Farrell of the Total Policing Task Force said: “We are working with Cleveland Police to target an organised crime group suspected of coordinating Vietnamese cannabis farmers in both force areas.

“We have already seen a massive reduction in the number of these illegal enterprises as a result of the enforcement action taken by Northumbria Police last year to rid Newcastle and surrounding areas of cannabis farms. “And we won’t stop there. These raids demonstrate that we will take swift and decisive action to stem the latest rash of organised cannabis production and prevent the development of new farms.” In the Cleveland Police area officers discovered farms at a house at Belle Vue Grove and a house at Marton Road (total of 1,500 plants), both in Middlesbrough.