Police uncover £6million cannabis farm in former factory

Inside the factory - the latest police discovery of a £6m cannabis grow in Frampton. EMN-210427-171700001

An investigation is underway after thousands of cannabis plants were found at the derelict factory site in Frampton.

Lincolnshire Police say officers received a call at 8.12pm on Thursday, April 22 after reports of suspicious activity and a warrant was executed to search the site the following day (Friday).

The force said in a statement released this afternoon: “Upon entering the property on West End Road, officers discovered around 7,000 plants being cultivated in the 40,000 sq ft unit.”

They are estimated to have a street value of around £6 million.

“Two males, aged 15 and 33, were arrested on suspicion of the production of a controlled drug and have been released on police bail,” said the force. Enquiries are still ongoing.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Paul Coleman said: “This is a significant find and I am pleased that this operation allowed us to take out a huge amount of cannabis out of circulation to prevent criminals from profiting from them.

“Thankfully incidents like this are very rare for this area, but I would like to reassure the public that we will be doing everything we can to bring offenders who blight our communities with drugs to justice.

“We would also like to thank the local community for their patience while we were dealing with the incident.”

This latest operation comes just a month after around £6m worth of cannabis plants were seized when police carried out a major operation at the former Fogarty’s factory.

A large number of officers along with other agencies were involved in that raid on the 50,000 square foot factory site of the former bedding manufacturer, which closed in 2018, after more than 150 years in business, on Fishtoft Road.

Three people were arrested and have been charged in connection with the raid.

Lincolnshire Police described the cannabis grow at the time as the largest scale that has ever been seen in the county, but now this latest discovery rivals that.

If you have information or suspicions concerning illegal drugs cultivation you are advised to call 101 or contact the independent charity CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111 or online if they wish to remain anonymous.

If you have any information that can assist officers with their investigation into the cannabis grow uncovered in Frampton, call 101 or email: [email protected] quoting incident 438 of April 22.