Drug production flourishes in empty British high streets

Organised crime groups have targeted empty shops and cafes in city centres to grow cannabis on an industrial scale, police chiefs say.

Over the past year, dozens of buildings have been raided, ranging from old toy shop in AyrScotland, after a former bank in Welshpool, Powys.

According to the government, vacant restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, bingo halls and office buildings have all been used to grow the drug. National Council of Chiefs of Police.

In Newport, South Wales, criminals used multiple floors of a former department store on the main shopping street to grow more than 3,000 cannabis plants.

The street value of the cannabis grown in that one former shop was estimated at two million pounds.

Estate agents, electricians and tradesmen have been warned they could face prosecution if they help gangs convert the buildings into cannabis plantations.

Chief Constable Richard Lewis, the national drug enforcement officer on the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said the decline of many high streets in recent years was providing opportunities for criminals.

“Commercial properties are attractive to organised criminal organisations for all kinds of reasons,” he explains.

“Large stores have closed and this has made it possible to produce cannabis on a larger scale.”

According to Mr Lewis, the cannabis plantations can go unnoticed because so few people come in the evenings.

“You don’t see as many people at night anymore… neighbors in residential buildings would notice things quicker,” he said.

Last year, police efforts against cannabis plantations were stepped up, with 1,000 arrests and 1,000 detentions.

Gwent Police have successfully raided several cannabis farms in Newport city centre, the largest of which was former Wildings department store which closed in 2019.

“It was done over multiple floors and levels and it certainly would have taken some time to set up,” said Sgt. Dan Wise.

He said he has seen a transformation in recent years, with gangs targeting empty retail sites in the city, which had one of the highest vacancy rates in the UK as a result of the Covid pandemic.

Last year, an analysis by the Welsh Retail Consortium found that more than one in six stores in Wales is empty.

“Let’s face it, these are organised crime gangs that can operate on a much larger scale and level,” said Sergeant Wise.

Earlier this year, police worked with Newport City Council to set up a database of buildings which could be vulnerable to gang use.

According to the National Council of Police Chiefs, police departments are proactive in closing down cannabis farms. That doesn’t just mean cracking down on cannabis growers.

“We have also prosecuted the landlords of these properties, who at best turn a blind eye to what is happening,” Lewis said.

“We have seen prosecutions of real estate agentselectricians and people who facilitated this trade.

“Of course, most tradespeople in the UK do great work, but there are also small minorities who engage in this type of activity, and we prosecute them.”

Police operations have now found links between large-scale cannabis cultivation and other crimes, such as human trafficking and violent crimes.

Mr Lewis has urged the public to report information to police if they suspect a property is being used for drug cultivation.

Some telltale signs are taped-up windows and bright lights left on early in the morning.

They may also have tents outside, he added: “The buildings are too hot to stay inside all night.”