Residents living close to houses that had been converted into cannabis farms and filled with marijuana plants have described how they felt when the truth was revealed.
It comes as six men were sentenced for their role in a cannabis growing operation across Nottingham.
Nottingham Crown Court heard on Friday, April 23, how the drugs conspiracy was conducted between September 2019 to April 2020.
Members bought their supplies from a hydroponics shop and using multiple properties to grow their crops in.
During the sentencing hearing, they faced Judge Julie Warburton, who said: "Each of you were involved in the organisation and operation to produce commercial quantities of cannabis for financial profit."
The operation was uncovered after a raid at two flats in Trent Boulevard, where evidence linking to three further properties was found.
Each house had been completely given over to growing cannabis plants, with electricity bypassed and water systems created.
A resident living near one of the properties in Valley Road, said, "there had been concerns" but no one really knew what was going on.
The court heard last week that 285 plants were seized from the house which amounted to £179,550 street value.
"You could sometimes smell it," the resident, who did not wish to be named, added.
"I'm pleased it's been dealt with."
Over in Edwalton, there was a stark contrast of the type of property going from a busy main road to the much quieter, leafy street of Wood View.
Here, 258 plants had been found growing with the walls painted and lined with sheeting, windows covered and ventilation installed.
The cannabis was grown in the front space downstairs and the two rear bedrooms and was worth an estimated £162,540 on the street.
One long-term resident in Wood View who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "I was shocked when I heard about it, I knew nothing.
"I had seen two men come and go a few times, but never heard anything or smelled anything.
"It's a very quiet area, but once word got out, people did talk.
"I am pleased with the outcome, getting the drugs off the street, but it doesn't seem long."
Speaking after the court hearing, Detective Inspector Ian Smith of the force’s Serious and Organised Crime Task Force said: “This is a significant operation which has led to a huge amount of drugs being seized and stopped from being sold across Nottinghamshire and further afield.
“The production of cannabis is plainly illegal and we will not tire from taking out organised crime networks that profit from such illegal commodity.
"We have a duty to arrest such individuals, not only so they can be tried in a criminal court, but to ensure we strip them of their assets and capabilities, which would otherwise drive further serious organised crime that can manifest itself in many ways, all of which pose a danger to our communities."
