Watch: Video shows police in action as more than £1 MILLION worth of cannabis seized in seven month crackdown

Since the start of September 2024, South Yorkshire Police have been investigating drug crimes in Mexborough, uncovering a series of drug farms producing cannabis on an industrial scale.

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In one abandoned building, the team from the Doncaster South Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) found 511 plants spread across various rooms after dismantling a metal shutter to gain access to the premises.

In one room, a man was found hiding among the plants, with two men later arrested, charged and convicted for production of a Class B drug.

Across seven month £1m worth of cannabis has been seized from the small town, which only has a population of around 15,000 people.

Doncaster South NPT Inspector Adrian Luscombe said: "A lot of intelligence gathering goes into obtaining these warrants and dismantling these cannabis set-ups and I am pleased we have been able to remove a large quantity of harmful drugs from circulation.

"These cannabis farms are often linked to organised crime gangs responsible for violence and terror on our streets.

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"By wiping out these farms, we deprive them of a source of income which allows us to massively disrupt their operations and ultimately makes our communities safer.

"The gangs running these farms often exploit vulnerable people to look after the grows and the bypassing of electricity poses a substantial fire risk to neighbouring properties.

"We do rely on the public sharing information with us so we can act, investigate and dismantle these cannabis farms and I would encourage local residents to continue sharing information and intelligence with us so we continue to crackdown on this criminality."

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