Police raid in Telford uncovers 250 cannabis plants worth £250,000
A foreign national is due in court today after police yesterday discovered 250 cannabis plants which have a street value of £250,000 in Telford.
A warrant was executed at an address in Hollinswood yesterday morning by the South Telford Safer Neighbourhood Team following concerns by members of the local community who reported suspicious activity occurring at the property in a residential Street.
Local residents reported strange comings and goings and strong smells emanating from the address. Officers investigated and conducted the warrant to enter the property under the misuse of drugs act. They found four rooms of the house full of cannabis plants.
The house was cleared and the plants taken away for destruction. The foreign national was arrested and interviewed by police. He will be attending court today.
A police spokesperson said: "I have no doubt what so ever that this cannabis was destined for the streets of Telford, we as police officers see on a daily basis the harm that cannabis use causes and it is really satisfying that we with the communities help have taken this off the streets.
"The drugs dealers making money from the sale of these drugs do not care about our community or the harm it is doing to our young people.
"Cannabis designated as a class B drug, it is harmful, regular cannabis use is known to be associated with an increase in the risk of later developing psychotic illnesses including schizophrenia; and if you have a family background of mental illness, you may also have an increased risk.
"Cannabis can affect the way the brain works. Regular, heavy use makes it difficult to learn and concentrate and research has linked cannabis use to poor exam results. This is a potentially serious risk if you're young, when the brain is still developing. People who take a lot of cannabis can also find they lack motivation.
"We have noticed a rise in cannabis production across the country, the houses used can be on our housing estates or in rural areas, we have come across these grows in many different types of houses and factories.
"Growing cannabis requires a large amount of electricity to keep the plants warm and usually the power supply has been tampered with. This causes dangers of overheating and fire. At this address we found large transformers which had over heated and melted on the wall. They were very lucky that this had not set the house alight and this could have spread quickly to neighbouring houses.
"Help us to help our community and young people by reporting strange activity such as this."
