Cannabis farm Doncaster: £800,000 drug den found in abandoned nightclub

A huge cannabis factory worth around £800,000 has been discovered in an abandoned Doncaster nightclub. Officers were alerted to the drug den in premises on Silver Street on December 14.

There were around 800 cannabis plants spread across six rooms, with reports that the electricity inside the venue had been tampered with.

It is thought people had been living inside the property where the cannabis was being grown, with evidence of fresh food, cooking utensils and general living arrangements.

It was also reported that two men were seen exiting the building after using wire to climb down from a first-floor window. An investigation has been launched and enquiries are ongoing.

Inspector Lisa Bird, of Doncaster Central neighbourhood policing team, said: "This was a sophisticated and significant set up with cannabis plants at varying stages of growth discovered in various rooms of the establishment.

"Some people might think cannabis is a harmless drug, but its links to organised crime has been proven. Organised crime groups (OCGs) bring misery to communities with increased violence, use of weapons and drugs supply.

"It leads to vulnerable people being exploited to look after the cannabis grows and there is evidence of that happening in this particular case.

"We want people to feel safe in their homes and wiping out cannabis grows will help us to do that and clear out organised crime groups from our local communities."

Anyone with information should call 101 and quote incident number 124 of December 14, 2023.