Two arrests in police raid at cannabis farm

Police from Rotherham’s Operation Grow team executed warrants at semi-detached houses on Bennett Street in Kimberworth shortly after 8am, with officers having to force entry to one property. 

The two men — both thought to be Albanian — were each sleeping in a narrow kitchen in their property. 

Elsewhere in both properties were cannabis farms, and a garage in the grounds of one property is also believed to be a previous site. 

Northern Powergrid arrived on the scene to inspect further and make both properties safe. 

Sgt Matthew Smith said: “People will say ‘It’s only a bit of weed.’ But operations like this show it is much more than that and has a real impact across the community. 

“There are the power cuts on homes and businesses we’ve seen in Eastwood. In other operations we’ve seen walls in houses removed so they can knock through which are actually supporting walls which has made the property structurally unsafe. 

“There are other dangers, too, such as the risk of fires — just look at the Ship Inn in Kilnhurst” (in 2019 an abandoned cannabis set-up was discovered by fire crews after a blaze in the disused pub).

Police had not been able to confirm the total number of plants seized as the Advertiser went to press, but one officer estimated a street value of potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds.