Two men arrested after stolen vehicles located at a property in Southampton

Detectives are investigating after police located a cannabis cultivation and three stolen vehicles at a property in Southampton.

At around 2pm on Tuesday, 7 September, an off duty police officer reported seeing suspected drugs activity taking place at an address in Lupin Road, Southampton.

Officers attended and carried out a search of the property.

During the search, they located a number of cannabis plants growing in the garden, two motorbikes and two Ford Transit vans.

Both of the vans and one of the motorbikes had been reported as stolen.  

A 29-year-old man from Southampton has been arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis. He has been released from custody but remains on police bail with conditions.

A second man, aged 32, from Ashford in Surrey has been arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis and theft of a motor vehicle. He has been released from custody but remains under investigation.

Enquiries are ongoing.

Chief Inspector Ricky Dhanda said: “Having the eyes and ears in our community is key to help tackle organised crime. We have not only been able to disrupt local drug-related activity which we hope will go some way to protect others from drug related harm, but we have also been able to locate four stolen motor vehicles. Drug offences are not always in isolation to other crimes, there is often a complex link to other crimes that have a direct impact to the community, such as theft and burglaries.

 “We know that a lot people think it’s just cannabis and nothing serious and we have also heard people say if it were legalised, all of these problems we talk about would go away. It is not for us to get into debate about the law, and while the production and supply of cannabis is illegal, people are victims of associated crimes including serious harm, and people suffer – which is something that we cannot ignore. It is vital we take action in order to reduce drug related harm and the associated crime to help keep our communities safe.

“It is also linked to anti-social behaviour, like drug-related activity in your neighbourhood, which can cause misery to local communities.

“We are really keen to hear from people who suspect there is cannabis cultivation or drug related activity going on their neighbourhood.

“Every call you make to us is logged and helps us build up an intelligence picture about what might be happening in your community. This allows us to take action and prevent your neighbourhoods from harm.”

People can contact police on 101 or online at https://www.hampshire.police.uk/ro/report/.