Police uncovered a farm of 500 cannabis plants during a raid at a disused pub near Harrogate at the weekend.
Officers swooped on the Star and Garter pub at Kirkby Overblow on the morning of Sunday, May 28, where they discovered the “large cannabis production farm”.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said the plants were at various stages of growth, adding:
“Officers remained at the scene to recover the plants and drug production equipment and to allow crime scene investigators to examine the scene.
“The investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made at this time.”
Villagers told the Stray Ferret that police were on site for more than 24 hours after the raid and were removing large numbers of plants from the building.
The pub closed several years ago and was boarded up last year.
Police were seen outside the Star and Garter pub from Sunday morning onwards.
Following the raid, North Yorkshire Police has urged people to report any suspicions of properties being used to grow cannabis.
As well as a strong, sweet smell of cannabis in the area, suspicious signs might include blacked out windows and blocked up vents, bright lights throughout the night, high levels of condensation on windows, noise from fans inside the building, and large amounts of rubbish including compost bags.
The police spokesperson added:
“We’re continuously tackling ‘cannabis farms’ – sophisticated set-ups in houses or other properties, used by organised crime gangs to produce several crops of cannabis over time.
“Cannabis production is extremely harmful to communities, and often used to fund criminal gangs involved in human trafficking, sexual exploitation and the distribution of other drugs including cocaine and heroin.
“Furthermore, the electricity supply may have been tampered with (to bypass the meter), creating a high risk of fire – which could spread to neighbouring properties.”
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Police seize suspected cocaine in Ripon house raid
A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of possessing cocaine following a drugs raid by North Yorkshire Police.
Police used a warrant to enter a house in Ripon and seized a large quantity of powder, believed to be cocaine.
According to officers, a number of other items including scales, mobile phones and cash, were also seized during the operation in the south of the city on Friday.
A local man and woman, both in their 20s, were arrested on suspicion of possessing class-A drugs with intent to supply and taken into custody.
They were interviewed and have been released under investigation to allow further enquiries to be carried out, including forensic tests of the substances.
Inspector Penny Taylor said:
“Information from communities is vital to help us tackle drug offending, and I’d urge anyone who has information about drug activity to share it with us.
“All reports are taken seriously and could help us make a real difference in your community.”
Anyone with information about drug dealing in their community can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, and select option 1 to speak to the force control room.
You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 and the charity will share the information with North Yorkshire Police.
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Fairfax residents call for support after weeks of disturbances
Residents in the Fairfax area of Harrogate who witnessed a police raid this afternoon have called for more support after weeks of disturbances.
The council flat several police vans attended appears to have suffered extensive damage. All of the windows are broken.
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Some of the people living nearby told the Stray Ferret suspect that the man who lives in the council flat has mental health problems and is not getting the support he needs:
“It’s been going every night for about two weeks. The police take him to the hospital but there is no Briary Ward anymore. They leave him at the hospital but he just walks home and starts again. They don’t do anything to help, it takes too long for them to take any action.”
The windows are broken at the council flat.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:
“Shortly after 11am today, police were called to an incident at residential flats in Harrogate. A man was arrested for criminal damage and is now in police custody.”
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust is responsible for mental health services in the district. The Stray Ferret has approached the trust for comment following the calls for support from residents.
A spokesperson said for the health trust told the Stray Ferret:
“Whilst we can’t comment on individual cases, anyone that previously received care at The Briary Unit, Harrogate is still able to access full mental health support through their care team or our crisis services. Our inpatient facilities that were previously at The Briary Unit transferred to our new state of the art hospital, Foss Park in York and anyone requiring hospital admission would be admitted to this site.”
The Briary Unit at Harrogate District Hospital closed its doors in April this year for the final time as adult inpatient mental health services transfer to York. The trust said that it would be spending more money on community-based care.