Cannabis Plants Seized In West Lothian

17 November 2016, 10:24 | Updated: 17 November 2016, 10:26

Around 800 cannabis plants with a street value of £600,000 have been seized in a large scale operation by Police Scotland

Two men have been arrested and charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act following an operation which targeted serious and organised crime in West Lothian.

The men, aged 43 and 33, were arrested after Police Scotland searched business premises on Polbeth and Kirkton Campus industrial estates on Tuesday.

A third business premises was also searched in Ratho, Edinburgh during the operation which involved East Organised Crime, Counter Terrorism Unit and Lothians and Borders Proactive.

It resulted in the seizure of around 800 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £600,000.

Detective Inspector Arron Clinkscales from the East OCCTU said: "Tuesday's activity was the culmination of detailed intelligence gathering, surveillance and planning and resulted in a massive haul of cannabis being recovered.

"Tackling organised crime is a local and national priority and we will continue to use information received from the public to bring offenders to justice.''

Chief Inspector Barry Blair, local area commander for West Lothian said: "Our communities have made it abundantly clear that they will not tolerate drug dealing and associated offences in their area, and nor will we.

"This was a collaborative operation utilising a range of Police Scotland resources and because of the vital information we received from the public, a significant quantity of drugs has been seized before they could make their way onto our streets.