

Police made a number of arrests after receiving
intelligence that habitual cannabis users were
buying the class B drug from legal CBD shops.
When these users were
stopped by officers and found
in possession of cannabis, they
said they had legally bought it
from a CBD shop including one
in Thornton Heath.
Officers raided Cannabidiol
(CBD) shops in High Street,
Croydon, Crown Point in West
Norwood and High Street,
Thornton Heath on August 19
after procuring several samples
of the products from the shops.
As a result, four people
aged 37, 64, 42 and 39 were
arrested on suspicion of being
concerned in the supply and
importation of a class B drug.
As part of the warrants,
officers recovered items
including about £20,000
in cash, a large amount of
cannabis, 63,000 nitrous oxide
canisters, suspected ‘magic’
mushrooms, which is a class A
drug, and drug paraphernalia.
A Bitcoin ATM machine was also
found in one of the shops. which
are sometimes used as a method
to launder money.
Officers also searched
residential properties
linked to those arrested and
recovered cash and evidence
relating to the importation
and sale of cannabis.
Enquiries revealed that the CBD
shops had been trying to exploit
a loophole, where it is ‘legal’
to sell a Home Office approved
product, which contains up to
0.2 per cent THC.
The samples were sent off for
testing and all of them came
back as having more than 0.2
per cent THC.
Police Constable Ross Bennett,
the investigating officer
from the South Area Basic
Command Unit, said: “The
evidence gathered during
these warrants suggest that
these shops are part of a larger
organised crime network and
are also being used for money
laundering purposes.”