Arrests made in raids on 'cannabis link' firms

**BomShiva** · 08-10-08, 11:33 PM

A dozen people have been arrested during a police crackdown on cannabis supply in Lancashire.

Several businesses across Lancashire, including two in Preston and one in South Ribble, were raided yesterday morning as police arrested people suspected of selling equipment that could be used to manufacture cannabis.

Preston shops Willy Banjos in Lothian Street and City Hydroponics in Great Shaw Street were raided, while the Water Culture Hydroponics on the South Ribble Enterprise Park in Walton-le-Dale was also targeted.

They were among seven properties raided across Lancashire by anti-drugs police.

Officers arrested 12 people on suspicion of being involved in the unlawful production of cannabis.

Premises in Blackpool, Darwen, and Burnley were also targeted in an operation led by the Serious and Organised Crime Unit of Lancashire Police.

Det Chief Insp Steve Mounsey said: "During 2007 an emerging picture developed of a number of retail premises within Lancashire which were knowingly selling equipment for use in the unlawful production of cannabis.

"Lancashire Constabulary is committed to disrupting this type of criminal activity.

"The premises targeted have been selected as they are locations where it is suspected hydroponics equipment has been knowingly sold or offered for sale for the sole purpose of producing cannabis.

"The fact that these premises exist in five towns within Lancashire and provide everything necessary, including cannabis seeds, carbon filters for the purpose of disguising smell, and books on cannabis production, illustrates the scale of the problem.

"There are grounds to suspect some proprietors have expanded into Internet sales of similar equipment."

The arrests follow months of work by officers utilising test purchase tactics similar to those employed in drug Operation Nimrod.

From January 2009, cannabis is to be reclassified as a Class B controlled drug.

Bom!

**keshman** · 08-10-08, 11:58 PM

My biggest concerns are this; imagine old bill simply sitting outside local hydro store and taking down number plates, then busting addresses linked to plates. So suppose you catch bus/ taxi/ friend so store....still no fucking good if they bust the store and take all the details of card/ internet purchases away to "examine further"!!

Soooo...you order online but pay by cash into the stores account, like Greens etc but give your mates address. Problem solved, as long as your mate don't tell anyone else or the cops!

Growing illegal shit is sooo much fun!

**Strider** · 09-10-08, 12:13 AM

Grim reading

The do similar with my local hydro shop, just setup a CCTV van outside, must cost them a fortune in lost sales

**BomShiva** · 09-10-08, 12:26 AM

"The arrests follow months of work by officers utilising test purchase tactics similar to those employed in drug Operation Nimrod"

They did this years ago (either 1992 or 1993) to one of the very first seed/grow shops in the UK called sensible seeds, in Gwent in Wales, spent over a year buying equipment and seeds and asking advice, as the shop owner built up confidence with the undercover pigs.

When they finally got bust, the shop owner and a few others close to him were charged with incitement to persons unknown.

I expect this is what charges will be used against these growshops aswell.

This does not suprise me one bit and i wouldent be suprised if this starts to happen nationwide.

You can thank your gut a house style viet/chinky grow ops for this clamp down, in one way they take the heat off us percy growers but in other ways they bring it on top for us all.

Bom!

**BomShiva** · 09-10-08, 12:41 AM

How on earth they can compare this to Operation Nimrod is beyond me and both my dogs and the goldfish!

Operation Nimrod was a class A drugs operation, nothing like this at all, god the press type some bollox!

"The effects of drugs – particularly Class A drugs can cause misery for many people – those who take the drugs themselves may find their health and lifestyle deteriorates, families are unable to help the people they love and wider communities mayscared when they see things like used needles or dealing on their streets.

Operation Nimrod is Lancashire Constabulary’s long-term campaign to get rid of Class A drugs dealing from the county’s streets. Launched in 2002[1] the operation has seen great success with over 100 arrests in the last six months alone. This brings the total of nearly 600 arrests, over 500 convictions and prison sentences of a total of nearly 2000 years so far

Impacting on other crimes

Detective Inspector Roger Price, the Constabulary lead on Nimrod, explains the impact it has had on other crime rates: “We know how drugs use is heavily linked to other crimes like robbery, car crime and burglary – we know that people need to steal to get money to feed their habit. So, in a way drug dealers are helping people become thieves, shoplifters and burglars, as well as making people feel unsafe in their neighbourhood. Part of the reductions we’ve seen in these types of crime across Lancashire are linked to Nimrod’s success

“Operation Nimrod is a long-term approach that has required sustained funding and commitment from the force and the use of innovative intelligence and policing techniques. Most importantly it shows how – when the public give us information about people dealing drugs – we act on it when we can to get real results. With continued public support and information we’ll carry on for as long as it takes."

Operation Nimrod is 100% intelligence-led. We spend a lot of time analysing the drugs markets in the county. Information given to us by people living in communities affected by drugs also contributes to this intelligence assessment. We get this in a number of ways – through people attending their monthly PACT meeting, through anonymous calls to Crimestoppers or people simply talking to their local officer.

This intelligence is used to help inform us on where to concentrate our evidence gathering operation, where we try to get as much information and evidence as we can about dealers and their activity that we can use to lead to their arrest."

Ehh im confused since when did us percy growers warrent the attention of a operation like op Nimrod ROFL.

Bom!

D · 09-10-08, 11:09 AM

wankers.

absolute wankers.

**lkdj2003** · 09-10-08, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by Midnight Toker

Errrr .. no, actually it's the unworkable drug laws that force people to go to dealers in the 1st place that are to blame.

If we were allowed to grow our own the drug dealer scum would'nt have a captive audience to sell thair contaminated shit to.

And as already said, what the fuck has weed got to do with class A's !! ... wankers.

The day they Ban alcohol & tobacco i might, just might be able to take their concerns a little more seriously.

Amen to that ^^

The thing is with this is they could of had rooms/houses full of plants and dealing by the sounds of it.

At the end of the day its not the hydro shop's problem with what there customers choose to do with there products.

Thats what you get when you sell seeds at a hydro shop and give out cannabis growing info in there shop to. (nothing has changed there)

(trust no one, take no chance)
.........................................

**Opiate** · 09-10-08, 03:09 PM

dunno what the deal is in UK but i forsee a huge legal battle over this one....

and I bet the po po's had a good long think tank to come up w/ the name operation nimrod..