Five men have been arrested after a ‘cannabis café’ was shut down in East London.
On Wednesday 9 October, police said they executed a warrant on a premises in Bethnal Green called Electric Pool due to it allegedly being linked to drug supply and allegedly harbouring wanted offenders and/or illegal immigrants.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands the arrests were for a variety of offences; Concern in the Supply Class B, Conspiracy to Supply Class B, Possession of Class B, Possession of Criminal Property and Immigration offences.
Police had received a number of complaints from the public over ‘frequent callers’, who would allegedly attend the venue and visit for a short while before leaving.
Police believe that those in charge or in control of the premises may be involved in harbouring either wanted offenders and/or illegal immigrants, which police say causes some great concerns about the safety and safeguarding of vulnerable people, human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
The raid was part of the Met’s Operation Apatite, which aims to crack down on the unlawful supply of Class B drugs and associated criminality linked to this activity, specifically around the Tower Hamlets area.
The raid resulted in a full Closure Order for three months which was supported by Tower Hamlets Council to prevent the building from being used for drugs in the future.
A council spokesperson told the LDRS: “We work closely with the police to tackle drug supply and substance use in Tower Hamlets, which is one of our top priorities, as outlined in our new substance misuse strategy.
“Alongside significant investment into community safety, we utilise all our resources including regular patrols by council enforcement officers and our recently upgraded CCTV suite, where over 350 street-based cameras are monitored 24/7.”
They added: “We actively support criminal investigations through our information sharing arrangements, providing reassurance patrols, and helping get people into treatment and recovery services. The council has invested nearly £7million to help people overcome addiction and rebuild their lives.”
MPS Tower Hamlets posted a photo on X of a man appearing to weld a door shut, with the caption: “Five men have been arrested following the closure of a Cannabis Cafe in Bethnal Green. Yesterday, police executed a warrant on a premise linked to drug supply. With support from @TowerHamletsNow, a closure order was issued today to prevent future use of the building for drugs.”
The investigation is ongoing.
