Organised crime disrupted in Lincolnshire

Organised crime groups growing cannabis in Lincolnshire have had their operations disrupted by officers from Lincolnshire Police.

Taking part in a nationwide crackdown on illegal cannabis grows by organised crime groups (OCGs) – which are linked to broader criminality here and elsewhere in the UK – officers executed warrants, made arrests and seized drugs to keep your streets safe.   

The intensification activity ran from the end of February and into early March. Here are the headline results:  

• We conducted five warrants – three had active cannabis grows in which have been removed and the property made safe, and two of the properties had evidence of being used previously to grow the drugs

• 374 plants seized

• Bags of suspected drugs seized 

• One suspect arrested and bailed

• One person charged with being concerned in the production of cannabis and remanded into custody

Investigations into all of these grows are ongoing.

Detective Chief Inspector Gemma Smith, said: “Our primary goal is to keep you and your families, your loves ones, and your colleagues safe. There can often be a belief that growing or selling cannabis is inconsequential, however this is recognised as a huge and lucrative business bringing large sums of money to criminal gangs, and having a negative impact on local communities.

"When these OCGs move into our area and set up these grows, they are not thinking about the safety of the property or people living nearby, and the risk that bypassing electrical grid can cause.

"They’re not thinking about the impact of growing and eventually selling these drugs can have by funding even more criminality, which can often feed into international drugs rings, trafficking, and other exploitation. They’re not thinking about the crime it brings to the doorstep of that property with the potential for violence spilling out in our streets.

"They just want the money, while we want Lincolnshire to be as inhospitable an environment as possible for this type of crime, and the criminals running these OCGs.

"The results have been really positive and we will now continue to build strong cases and work on the fresh intelligence we have been able to gather to continue this fight against serious organised crime.”