Police reach out to business community as report reveals scale of cannabis cultivations in the Scottish Borders
Last updated 4th Sep 2024
More details are emerging of the scale of some of the cannabis farms unearthed in the Scottish Borders in the past year.
It comes as police reiterate their plea to the public to report any suspicious activity in the region.
Today's meeting of Scottish Borders Safer Communities Board heard illegal cultivations linked to serious organised crime, totalling more than £6 million, have been seized in the past 12 months.
This includes 80 large packages of cannabis discovered on a farm near Paxton in February, estimated to be worth around £1.4 million. Police say enquiries into that find are continuing.
In the weeks that followed, three cannabis farms worth almost £2.5 million were discovered in two separate raids on three empty retail units in the centre of Galashiels.
In terms of what they found in the former Woolworths and Ladbrokes stores, it's believed to be the biggest haul of drugs ever seized in the Borders in a single day.
They were found just yards from the front door of the former Warehouse nightclub, where a cannabis cultivation believed to be worth around £500,000 was unearthed in November.
That same month last year, around 1,400 cannabis plants believed to be worth £1.2 million, were seized after police swooped on a derelict mill in Selkirk.
And, in October, cannabis valued at more than £700,000 was found during a raid on the former Buccleuch Hotel in Hawick.
The latest discovery was made in July, when cannabis plants worth around £190,000 were seized following a search of an unoccupied unit at Buckholm Mill Brae in Galashiels.
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Chief Inspector Stuart Fletcher (pictured top), Police Scotland's local Area Commander, said: "The point we want to make here is very clear: We will act on the information that communities pass to us. The fact that we've discovered these cultivations bears testament to that."
And he added: "We will shortly be embarking on our leaflet campaign, where we will reach out to members of the business community; particularly those owners of premises within the larger towns - and just educate them on the signs of a cultivation, what they need to look for."
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Anyone with information or concerns about drug misuse is being urged to contact Police Scotland on 101 or report anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Councillor Julie Pirone, who chaired this afternoon's meeting of the police board, said: "We want to be really clear to people who are coming to our area to commit crime, to make a lot of money from crime: 'You are not welcome here, and the community is standing up against you'.
"So I would encourage everybody, if you see something that is not quite right, phone it in; as the worst thing that can happen is you don't report it."
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