A CANNABIS factory has been shut down after a police raid in Leamington.
Detectives from Warwickshire Police’s serious and organised crime team raided the unit on Althorpe Street on July 15 and seized a significant amount of cannabis as part of a wider National Crime Agency operation.
Warwickshire Police officers also helped raid an address in Tamworth-in-Arden, seizing over 900kg of cannabis and then a further 500kg in storage in Shenstone. The cannabis has a wholesale value of approximately £5.5million.
Two men arrested in connection with the investigation – Peter Stride, 44, and Aaron Asbury, 37, were charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis.
NCA investigators made the arrests as part of an inquiry into a crime group smuggling methamphetamine from the UK to Australia, and importing cocaine to the UK.
Stride, of Vicarage Hill, Tamworth-in-Arden, was also charged with conspiring to export Class A drugs and conspiring to import Class A drugs.
Asbury, of Sycamore Road, Drakelow in Burton-upon-Trent, was also charged with conspiring to import Class A drugs.
They have both been remanded in custody and they will appear before Warwick Crown Court on August 14.
