Drug busters
Reporter: by Richard Hooton
Date published: 08 August 2008
Police smash cannabis farm and cocaine safehouse
POLICE have smashed a suspected fledgling cannabis farm and a cocaine safehouse in two separate raids just hours apart.
The Chronicle joined around 20 officers acting on intelligence from the community that a commercial cannabis factory was operating in Albert Street, Chadderton.
A family of eight, including six children, ignored yells to open up with officers smashing down a door to gain entry in yesterday’s raid.
Hidden behind partitions in a large garage were an irrigation system, heating and lighting and 12 cannabis plants.
Inside the large residential property was an Aladdin’s cave of suspicious items, including cannabis, an imitation firearm, several computers, expensive entertainment systems, a T-shirt production line — which Trading Standards are investigating — and even an Osama bin -Laden face mask. Outside jagged glass, barbed wire and an extensive CCTV network was the property’s security.
While officers had expected to find more plants they believe they could have halted a fledgling production business in its tracks. Some of the plants were in a poor condition because of a pest problem. In total around £2,000 of cannabis was seized.
A 39-year-old male was arrested on suspicion of producing cannabis with intent to supply and is being questioned.
Meanwhile, five men were arrested and thousands of pounds of narcotics and weapons seized when officers swooped at an address in The Crag, Milnrow, to target a gang believed to be responsible for distributing cocaine in Royton and Shaw.
Police seized mixing agents and 40 grammes of pure cocaine, worth £4,000 when cut down. They searched a Renault Clio car and two houses in Royton and Shaw to uncover weapons including a pistol, crossbow, two machetes and knuckle dusters, as well as cannabis and drugs paraphernalia.
Four men — a 19-year-old from Royton, a 25 and 18-year-old from Shaw, and a 20-year-old from Rochdale — were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a Class A drug and are currently being questioned.
Sgt Rob Howarth, from GMP’s Operational Support Unit (OSU), said: “We suspect it was a drugs safehouse ready for distribution. We believe we have disrupted and taken out an organised team of drug dealers responsible for Class A drugs in Royton and Shaw and we are very pleased with the result.
Referring to the Chadderton raid he said: “We did not get the recovery we thought we would but it sends out the message we are out there and taking drugs off the streets.
“We can safely say to people who are prospective producers and want to set up cannabis farms that Oldham is not a safe haven. People won’t start in Oldham as they know they will be targeted. It’s the disruption, not just recovering the goods.”
Over the past year, the OSU has arrested more than 100 people for drugs-related offences and seized more than 50 kilos of controlled substances with a street value of £1.4million.
Cannabis farms have been uncovered in houses, shops and even a pub — with 2,000 plants found in Clarksfield’s Spinners Tavern. More operations are planned.
Sgt Howarth warned that cannabis is much more potent than it used to be and children as young as 10 are taking it and then progressing to harder drugs.
He added: “We will not tolerate it in Oldham and are doing the best we can to target the people who are producing and distributing the stuff.”
Washington TV crew film raid
OLDHAM’S success in uncovering and wiping out cannabis farms has attracted interest from a world-wide audience.
A TV crew from the National Geographic Channel flew from Washington DC to Oldham for the day to film the cannabis raid.
They wanted to compare drugs raids in America to those in England and chose Oldham after hearing about the borough’s high-profile operations against cannabis. The programme is expected to be aired in November.
Sgt Howarth said: “They have picked Oldham as we are the most successful in targeting cannabis operations. Oldham is a leading light using tried and trusted techniques. We are finding them and dealing with them.”
