Cannabis worth £800k seized in drugs factory raid

The illegal plants were found at an address on Byram Buildings in Huddersfield

Nearly 1,500 cannabis plants with a potential street value of about £800,000 have been seized in a raid on a drugs factory in West Yorkshire.

Police discovered the plants in Huddersfield town centre on Wednesday after officers forced their way into a large property at Byram Buildings.

Searches and forensic inquiries were ongoing at the address while the cannabis plants were recovered, according to West Yorkshire Police.

PC James Hemsley, from the Huddersfield Town Centre Proactive Team, said: “We are continuing to investigate following Wednesday’s large scale seizure and are appealing for information from anyone who has seen suspicious behaviour at Byram Buildings in recent weeks."

The seizure was part of a wider operation to combat drugs in Huddersfield, police said

Police said the discovery was part of a wider-scale operation to combat the drug supply in Huddersfield.

A force spokesperson said that earlier in October, officers had arrested a man at a property on Macauley Street on suspicion of supplying Class A and Class C drugs to vulnerable persons in the town centre.

Meanwhile, during a separate raid in August, more than 1,000 plants valued at more than £550,000 were seized at a property on Emerald Street.

Three men were arrested and later charged with drugs offences following that raid, the spokesperson said.

PC Hemsley said: "Sophisticated and large scale cannabis factories such as these are expensive to set up and maintain, and are typically run by the kinds of organised crime groups who fuel misery in our communities.

"I can promise all reports of drugs related offences and production are thoroughly investigated and we urge anyone who has information about drugs crime in Kirklees to contact us."

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