Two men have been arrested and charged with drugs offences following a large-scale operation to target serious and organised crime in West Lothian.
During joint activity carried out by the East Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit, Lothians and Borders Proactive CID, Road Policing and local officers, searches of business premises at the Polbeth and Kirkton Campus Industrial Estates were carried out on Tuesday 15th November.
A third business premises within Ratho, Edinburgh was also searched during this operation.
As a result, around 800 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of ÂŁ600,000 were seized from within the properties.
The men aged 43 and 33 are scheduled to appear at Livingston Sheriff Court on Thursday 17th November.
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.
“If you would like to report ongoing criminal activity within your community then please contact us on 101 or make an anonymous call to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
