Man, 37, arrested after third cannabis farm in three months unearthed in centre of Galashiels
Last updated 2nd May 2024
Forensic officers are combing an empty shop in the centre of Galashiels following the discovery of a third cannabis farm in as many months.
Police sealed off part of Overhaugh Street this afternoon (Thursday) as officers swooped on the former Why Not? store.
It comes just weeks after two cultivations worth more than £2 million were seized in two other empty retail units nearby.
Five men - believed to be of Eastern European origin - were arrested in connections with the earlier raids in Channel Street.
It was the biggest haul of drugs ever seized in the Borders in a single day.
WATCH: Click on the link below to view our video from the scene...
Like Why Not?, the former Ladbrokes and Woolworths stores also have shop fronts facing onto Galashiels' main shopping street.
It's not the first time the former bookmakers store has come to police attention.
In 2019, an Albanian man claiming to be a victim of human trafficking was jailed for 30 months for helping oversee a £200,000-plus cannabis cultivation in the building.
And the back entrance on Overhaugh Street is 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.
The same month, 1,400 cannabis plants believed to be worth around £1.2 million, were seized after police swooped on a derelict mill in Selkirk.
And, in October, more than 400 cannabis plants were seized by police, 11 miles away in the opposite direction, in Hawick. Two men from Albania have been charged in connection with the raid on the former Buccleuch Hotel in Trinity Street.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Thursday, May 2nd, 2024, a cannabis cultivation was discovered within a building on Channel Street, Galashiels.
“A 37-year-old man has been arrested in connection with this recovery.
“Enquiries are ongoing."
Anyone with information can contact Police Scotland by dialling 101 or reporting anonymously, via CrimeStoppers, on 0800 555 111.
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