County-wide cannabis farm operation disrupts the sale of over £5.4M worth of drugs in 2024

Officers working as part of Operation Onions, an initiative specifically designed to tackle the dismantling of cannabis farms across Cheshire, seized over £5.4M worth of drugs in 2024.

It was recently revealed that between between March 2023 and March 2024, Cheshire Constabulary saw an increase of 160% in drug seizures compared to the previous year, which is the force’s largest recorded number of seizures since 2006. The increase follows the force’s robust approach in tackling Serious and Organised Crime and dismantling County Lines.

Continuing this trend into 2024, officers launched Operation Onion in March, with officers from the Northern Problem-Solving Team executing a warrant at a disused pub in Warrington town centre which resulted in the recovery of 720 cannabis plants.

The proactive investigation utilised the Constabulary's Drone Unit to detect heat sources within properties to identify cannabis cultivation from above, so officers are certain that the addresses they are targeting possess the plants before forcing entry.

Across the remainder of the year, officers continued working hard to dismantle cannabis farms with operations at a further 15 locations across the county. They seized well in excess of 1,500 plants and have made a number of arrests and subsequent charges in relation to those involved.

All of this has prevented £5.4M worth illegal drugs from flooding the county's streets.

Superintendent Sarah Heath, of Northern Local Policing, said:

"The disruption of the distribution of drugs within our county is part of the Constabulary’s day-to-day business and these fantastic results have led to us having hauled millions of pounds worth of illegal drugs off the streets and has disrupted those engaging in the serious and organised crime that is associated with it.

"Cheshire is a county that sits between two very large metropolitan areas, in the form Manchester and Liverpool, and we know that organised crime gangs do regularly attempt to utilise the road networks to distribute their goods across those areas, so we will continue in our relentless focus on this type of criminality as we move into 2025.

"Our officers remain committed in the continued intensification of efforts to combat the supply of illegal drugs of all kinds, and we will continue to do so until all those who think they can sell illegal drugs in our county's communities have been prosecuted and held accountable for their actions.”

If you have any information on illegal drug activity in your area, contact police on 101 or via www.cheshire.police.uk/tell-us.

Alternatively, information can be given anonymously by contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.