Five charged following cannabis cafe raid (From The Argus)

Five charged following cannabis cafe raid

9:00pm Sunday 26th October 2008 in News By Nigel Freedman

Five people have been charged following a raid on a notorious cannabis cafe.

The cafe in Freshbrook Road, Lancing, remains closed and under police guard.

Owner Mike Allday, 43, confirmed that he and four others have been charged with conspiracy to supply the Class C drug.

They have been bailed to appear at Worthing Magistrates Court on November 5.

The cafe has been closed since police raided it and addresses in Lancing and Worthing on Wednesday.

A 39-year-old woman from Brighton and three men aged 19, 32, and 39 were also arrested.

Their names had not been released by Sussex Police last night and Mr Allday did not want to reveal their identities.

Police used an angle grinder to cut their way into the heavily fortified cafe removing a thick steel door to get inside.

The cafe opened in January 2007 following the closure of a number of similar venues in Worthing and has temporarily been shut down on previous occasions.

Gates leading to the cafe in Freshbrook Road have been shut and bolted and the entrance is boarded up.

However, police said on Friday that a closure order had not been served on the building and there was nothing to prevent it being re-opened.

A spokesman for Sussex Police told The Argus on Friday: "It has just been very securely sealed."

Chief Inspector James Asser, district commander for Adur, was working but did not return calls from The Argus.

Friends of those arrested condemned the charges and said the latest of seven raids had resulted in no cannabis being seized.