Police had an eventful morning after they found an estimated £250,000 worth of cannabis on the M1 motorway earlier today (11 February).
The seizure of the drugs happened at Junction 12 near Luton in Bedfordshire. Local police officers stopped two vehicles in the early hours of this morning and were surprised to discover a possible 40kg of cannabis hidden in the back of a Peugeot.
There were six suspects on the scene and all were arrested for drug dealing, with police telling MailOnline that five males and one female were taken in.
Tweeting about the incident earlier today, the BCH Roads Policing Unit wrote: ''Apologies for the disruption on the M1 at J12 this morning.
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"Beds, Cambs and Herts Roads Policing Unit were carrying out controlled stops on two vehicles following intelligence from Northants Police of involvement in drug supply. Six arrests made and harvest of cannabis seized."
A picture accompanying the tweet showed a van filled with an extremely large amount of cannabis.
The stop occurred after local officers were tipped off with information from the neighbouring Northamptonshire Police, and it seems clear at the those arrested were local. The van in the picture was a hire vehicle, loaned from a company in Didcot, which is around 90 minutes from where the drugs were seized.
A police spokesperson told LADbible: "At around 2.35am this morning (Thursday) officers from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Roads Policing Unit discovered around 40 kilos of cannabis plants with an estimated value of £250,000.
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"Two vehicles were stopped near junction 12 southbound on the M1, after intelligence received from Northamptonshire Police linked them to drug supply.
"Subsequently five men and one woman were arrested on suspicion of drug offences.
"If you have any information around drugs supply or suspicious behaviour, call 101 or use our online reporting tool."
In the UK, cannabis is currently considered a class B drug and possession of it can bring up to five years in jail and fines, while supplying and producing it can carry a maximum 14 year sentence and fines.
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However, more countries around the world are having serious discussions about whether to decriminalise the plant-based drug.
In the US, the House of Representatives voted to decriminalise the drug at federal level, with the bill calling for the removal of cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances, and erasing certain federal convictions.
In Australia, meanwhile, it's been argued that up to 100,000 new jobs could be created if cannabis were legalised and able to become a legitimate business product. The argument came from leader of the HEMP party, Michael Balderstone.
Featured Image Credit: BCH Road Policing UnitTopics: Police, UK News, crime, Cannabis, Drugs