Cannabis farm with potential street value of £30,000 uncovered in Ormskirk during week of police raids across West Lancashire

Dec 13 2012 by Rob Pattinson, Ormskirk Advertiser

AN ORMSKIRK cannabis farm with a potential street value of more than £30,000 was uncovered by police during a week of drug raids across West Lancashire.

Officers executing a warrant at an address on Aughton Street on December 6 found a sophisticated 82-plant cannabis factory.

A 45-year-old male was arrested and is now on police bail until February pending further enquiries and analysis of the plants.

The raid was one of a series of warrants executed last week.

On Friday December 7, a cannabis farm growing 27 plants was uncovered on Beechtrees in Skelmersdale. A total of 15 bags of cannabis bush were seized along with £150 cash.

A 54-year-old was arrested on suspicion of cultivation of cannabis and abstracting electricity, and has been bailed until December 18.

On the same day, a raid on an address on Willow Hey, Skelmersdale, saw 19 bags of cannabis seized. A man and woman were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of cannabis. The man was cautioned and the woman released with no charge.

The three raids were the latest successful results of a multi-agency crackdown on cannabis launched across West Lancashire earlier this year.

The Cannabis Cultivation Action Group – a partnership made up of the council, fire, police, probation trust and other agencies, was formed to tackle the increasing problem of cannabis.

The group’s key aims are increasing reporting and awareness of the issue in the community. As part of the campaign, police officers and council staff have received training from former police drugs experts in how to deal with the issue. And the success rate of warrants has increased, according to Sgt Paul Bamber.

He said: “We are now working closer together and putting more time into investigating each tip-off before applying for warrants to ensure the best chance of a result. The warrant at Aughton Street was another great result for West Lancashire and highlights our commitment to tackling production of cannabis offences. This result was only possible due to community intelligence being passed on to the police and we are grateful for that.”