Police uncover £800,000 Coalville cannabis factory with 900 plants as part of 'County Lines' operation

By Graham Hill 21st Oct 2021

A 'large' cannabis factory with plants valued at £800,000 was discovered by police at a property in Coalville.

A warrant was executed as part of Leicestershire Police targeting 'county lines' drug dealing.

A property in London Road was raised on Monday, October 11.

Two men were charged and another arrested but later released.

Police described the Coalville find as 'the most notable' of their enforcement week across the county.

But they have not revealed the location of the discovery.

A spokesperson for Leicestershire Police said: "Officers discovered a large cannabis factory with 900 plants valued at approximately £800,000 plus £11,930 in cash.

"Two men were charged and remanded - another man was arrested and released under investigation."

Leicestershire Police carried out 11 warrants, arrested 28 people and recovered more than £100,000 of drugs and £35,000 in cash during a national week of enforcement.

The operation was part of a national County Lines Intensification Week - Monday 11 October to Sunday 17 October - which saw police forces up and down the country working with colleagues from a range of other agencies including children's services, youth services, youth justice, housing providers, Community Safety Partnerships and local Violence Reduction Networks.

In Leicestershire, teams from a range of agencies made 85 safeguarding visits to vulnerable young people.

County lines gangs export drugs into other areas of the country, often small towns, using dedicated mobile phone lines.

They also exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store drugs and money, sometimes using coercion, intimidation and violence.

Chief Inspector Emma Maxwell said: "The national County Lines Intensification Week has come just a few weeks after we arrested 43 people under Op Impose in the Hinckley area taking out an entire county line.

"We searched 76 addresses and recovered almost £200,000 in cash, various offensive weapons and around 6kg of heroin with a value in excess of £300,000 – which doesn't take into account the street value.

"If you add the results from the national week of action as well then we have had an incredibly successful month tackling county lines criminality across the force area.

"We've been able to take a very significant amount of drugs off our streets and prevented criminals from continuing to supply drugs.

"However, our operation is about more than just disrupting the supply lines, we are working with local organisations to get help for those who want it and during the national week of action we made 85 safeguarding visits to vulnerable young people."

"The police cannot tackle county lines offending alone, it can only be done in partnership with many other organisations and I'd like to thank all our partners who are as determined as we are to protect vulnerable young people and give them to support to get out or not get involved in the first place."

     

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