Man charged after Newport drug warrant

We’ve carried out another warrant in Newport under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Officers attended an address in Commercial Street on Friday 20 October and uncovered a cannabis cultivation.

A 53-year-old man from the Newport area was arrested on suspicion of cultivating a drug of class B and was later charged with this offence.

Superintendent Jason White said:

“Since March, we’ve noticed a rise in the number of disused premises across Gwent which have become used by criminals to cultivate cannabis.

“Before we can enter these properties, we need to seek the approval of the courts to enter a building believed to be involved in criminal activity.

“After building an intelligence picture which improves the likelihood of court granting a search warrant, we’ve uncovered several cannabis grows in the Commercial Street area and two cultivations elsewhere in Newport, along with others in Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen.

“Our officers have seized more than 5,000 cannabis plants in that period, with an estimated street value of just under £4million from Newport alone.

“The work of our officers to bring in these hauls of illegal drugs appears to illustrate an operating mechanism of organised crime groups to find disused commercial buildings in built-up areas and turn them into high-scale drug production factories.

“We’re continuing to build our intelligence picture and when we have the required amount of supporting evidence, we will carry out further warrants to remove drugs from our streets which cause misery across the whole of Gwent.

“These seizures of cannabis indicates that when we have the intelligence, we will and do act accordingly.

“We’re committed to tackling serious and organised crime and I would encourage anyone – residents, retailers or even if your place of work is in that location – to let us know if you have any concerns or suspicions about illegal drug activity in your area.”

Anyone with information is asked to call us on 101 or sending us a direct message on social media, quoting log reference 2300356796.