Operation Artemis: Tasers and weapons seized after police uncover cannabis farms
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Eleven people have been arrested as part of Cleveland Police's Operation Artemis, aimed at clamping down on crime in the Hartlepool area of Teesside.
Early morning raids uncovered two cannabis farms, including one that contained 60 cannabis plants and 90 saplings.
At one address in the town, two men thought to be originally from Vietnam, were arrested, but then safeguarded as police suspect them of being victims of modern slavery.
Neighbourhood Inspector Zoe Kelsey told ITV News the two men were found hiding in the property with food packages. One of the men, she said, was found hiding behind a plasterboard wall. Police suspect the men may have been locked in the house for some time.
She said: "When we went in both males were hiding. The conditions were dirty, were cramped. A lot of equipment. They didn’t have much space to move.
"We’re still looking into whether they were locked in or not. We can’t confirm that at this time. That’s what we’ll be doing. We’ll be doing those investigations over the next day or two."
As part of Operation Artemis, officers also carried out random vehicle spot checks, engaged with local schools about anti-social behaviour and carried out a water safety activity alongside the RNLI and Fire Service.
Superintendent Martin Hopps said the operation was multi-faceted and was designed to reassure the public the force is doing its job.
He said: "It pools all of our resources together so that we can have an impacting day upon the community where we execute a number of warrants and we can basically elevate and magnify the part of business that we do as part of our daily business, but to a point where it can’t be ignored by the community.
"It’s important two fold. So the majority of the community are law abiding citizens. They need to understand that Cleveland Police are here, that we’re listening and that we’ll respond to the issues that are presented to us and also to the minority of our community, who wake up everyday and see that as an opportunity to exploit the vulnerable for either self greed or gain.
"They need to understand that there are consequences to their actions and that Cleveland Police will deliver those consequences."
At a second address hosting a cannabis farm, three men from Poland were arrested. Police sniffer dogs were sent into the property and weapons were located, including CS gas, a taser and a kosh baton.
Inspector Kelsey said: "It’s very shocking. You know, these are weapons that can cause real injury to somebody. So we’ve got a taser, which is a section 5 firearm. We have CS gas as well, which is classed as a firearm, and then there was a large baton, obviously used to protect the people that were in there, but a very dangerous weapon, so it is what we see quite regularly."
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