Suspected cannabis plants at various stages of growth, with an estimated street value of between £10,000 and £15,000, were seized from an address in St Albans this morning (September 3, 2014).

A 44-year-old man from St Albans was arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis in Tanners Close, off Verulam Road, by the St Albans Central, North & West Safer Neighbourhood Team at 6.45am.

St Albans Safer Neighbourhood Sergeant Ann-Marie Owen said: “Cannabis has a strong pungent smell. If you suspect someone is growing or dealing controlled drugs, please contact us by calling 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 so we can investigate.”

The warrant took place during the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Commercial Cultivation of Cannabis Focus Week.

Chief Superintendent Bill Jephson from Hertfordshire Constabulary, who is also the national ACPO lead on Cannabis, said: “Cannabis is not an ‘innocent’ drug used for recreational purposes. It feeds a multi – million pound criminal enterprise, and is a driver of modern slavery, with around one fifth of human trafficking victims thought to have been criminally exploited and forced to become involved in cultivating cannabis.

“Hertfordshire Constabulary takes a robust stance against all drugs including Cannabis and this week of action highlights the levels we are prepared to go to in order to both educate the public about this drug and eradicate it from the streets of Hertfordshire.”

David Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, said: “I fully support the work of Hertfordshire Constabulary throughout this national week of action. Cannabis is far from a ‘harmless drug’ – it destroys lives and is at the heart of organised crime.

The cultivation of cannabis also plays a major role in human trafficking and the suffering ofvulnerable people.”