Nashawn Wade 
Five men have now been arrested after police searching for drugs raided two empty shops on opposite sides of a street in the centre of Galashiels.
Greatest Hits Radio understands two cannabis cultivations have been unearthed in both buildings – but that’s yet to be confirmed.
Officers remain standing guard outside the former Ladbrokes and Woolworths stores in Channel Street this afternoon.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 10am on Tuesday, March 26th, 2024, police executed drugs search warrants on Channel Street, Galashiels.
“Five men have been arrested and enquiries are continuing. Officers remain at the scene.”
It’s not the first time the former bookmakers store has come to police attention.
In 2019, an Albanian man claiming to be a victim of human trafficking was jailed for 30 months for helping oversee a £200,000-plus cannabis cultivation in the building.
And the back entrance on Overhaugh Street is just yards from the front door of the former Warehouse nightclub, where a cannabis cultivation believed to be worth around £500,000 was unearthed in November.
The same month, 1,400 cannabis plants believed to be worth around £1.2 million, were seized after police swooped on a derelict mill in Selkirk.
And, in October, more than 400 cannabis plants were seized by police, 11 miles away in the opposite direction, in Hawick. Two men from Albania have been charged in connection with the raid on the former Buccleuch Hotel in Trinity Street.
Anyone with information can contact Police Scotland by dialling 101 or reporting anonymously, via CrimeStoppers, on 0800 555 111.
