• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
UK Town Has So Many Cannabis Farms They're Causing Power Cuts

Home> News

Published 12:49 7 Feb 2022 GMT

UK Town Has So Many Cannabis Farms They're Causing Power Cuts

Local police have confiscated millions of pounds of drugs in the past few months

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

A town in the UK has so many cannabis farms that they're causing power cuts.

Drug dealers in the north of England have been rinsing the area's electricity supply as they rake in millions.

Police have raided countless properties in the town over recent months.
South Yorkshire Police

Advert

Police have recently been cracking down on criminals, shutting down 61 cannabis farms and seizing 6,797 plants with a street value of £6.8million in Rotherham since October last year.

Operation Grow also saw officers arrest 25 suspected drug producers working for 17 gangs in the South Yorkshire town, with 10 prosecuted and two jailed.

According to local MP Sarah Champion, the countless cannabis farms were blowing the electric 'sometimes four-times-a-day'.

She said: "Firstly from the anti-social behaviour associated with it and criminal gangs having turf wars."

Discussing the outages, Ms Champion added: "It's been a nightmare."

Advert

Local residents have spoken out about the stress of constantly going without power.

"It was every day. No cooking, no cleaning, no radiators, because the gas boiler uses electricity," one person told the Star.

"You couldn't do anything, just wait for them until they turn it back on. But I'm not going to report it because I'm not a snitch.’’ 

Mohammad Mubashar said he and his family were forced out of their home when the power cut.

The 20-year-old said: "I've got to get them up with an alarm, feed them, bath them. So I had to go to my sister.

Advert

"My lights were like a Christmas tree going on and off."

District police commander Chief Superintendent Steve Chapman said it was vital the police got the situation under control.

He said: "People involved in the production and supply of drugs have a detrimental impact on the local area.

Over £6m has been seized since October last year.
South Yorkshire Police

"The power cuts were a real issue in the community; not only that, but the organised criminals behind most of these setups take advantage of society’s most vulnerable who are often coerced and forced in to harbouring drugs.

Advert

"Where drugs are, you are certain to find gang rivalry, violence and exploitation and we are going in hard in a bid to disrupt the supply chain

"We are working with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to issue prohibition notices on any particularly problematic premises. The partnership is also educating landlords on how to safeguard their properties from being targeted by those wishing to grow and store drugs."

Chief Supt Chapman assured people that his force would continue to shut down farms.

He went on: "This is ultimately all about preventing future crimes on our streets and making Rotherham inhabitable for dealers and organised criminals

Police say they are going to continue with the crackdown.
Alamy

Advert

"Gang crime and serious violence ruins too many lives and we are doing all we can to intervene early and target drugs as the root cause.

"My ask of the public is to support us in our efforts, report any concerns and help us to keep Rotherham a safe place to live.

"Cannabis farms are not only illegal, they are incredibly dangerous and present a substantial fire risk due to electricity being bypassed. If you have any concerns about the production, storage and supply of drugs, please report these to police

"Alternatively, you can pass information to the independent charity Crimestoppers and remain completely anonymous. Their number is 0800 555 111."

Northern Powergrid, which supplies the town's electricity, said it had been cooperating with the authorities over the outages.

A spokesperson said: "We're working closely with South Yorkshire Police after power cuts in the local area were caused by suspicious overload activities."

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Drugs, UK News

Dominic Smithers
Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

X

@SmithersDom

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • MPs have voted to decriminalise abortion in the UK
  • Drake quietly drops extra UK tour date due to unprecedented demand
  • WW3 tensions rise as Iran makes chilling threat to UK amid ongoing conflict
  • Police say 'no survivors' on Air India flight bound for UK with 242 onboard

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    Donald Trump speaks out after Iran attacks on US airbases

    The US president posted on Truth Social

    News

    breaking

  • an hour ago

    NASA's Voyager 1 has just found a 50,000 Celsius 'wall of fire' at the edge of the solar system

    It's the furthest reaches of our solar system, but it helps protect us

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Everything we know about Iranian attack on US airbases in Qatar and Iraq as videos show missiles in the air

    The strikes from Iran follow the three from the US on Saturday (21 June)

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Inside $2,100,000,000 US stealth bomber made of 'radar absorbing' material making it impossible to detect

    The US used six B-2 Spirit stealth bombers in their strikes on three targets in Iran

    News