Hundreds of cannabis plants worth £860,000 seized

Cannabis plants worth more than £860,000 have been seized

Hundreds of cannabis plants worth more than £860,000 have been seized in a week-long operation across Carmarthenshire and Powys.

Dyfed-Powys Police raided six properties, with seven people arrested, and six of those charged with production of cannabis.

The action was part of national scheme - Operation Mille - to continue police forces' efforts to crackdown on industrial scale drug production.

Detective Chief Inspector Rich Lewis, said the force was taking a "robust approach" to stamping out the growth of cannabis on a commercial scale, which had been a "problem" over the years.

The operation, which began on 17 February, involved various teams, including CID, police officers, neighbourhood policing and prevention units, armed response teams, dog handlers, and drone pilots.

Cannabis plants were found and seized from six properties in Llanelli, Kidwelly, Burry Port, Newtown and Llanfihangel-Ar-Arth, in Carmarthenshire and Powys.

The largest raid was in Kidwelly, where 194 plants were seized for destruction, with an estimated value of up to £264,100.

Cannabis plants were found and seized from six properties across Carmarthenshire and Powys

Mr Lewis said cannabis growing on a commercial scale had been a problem for the force over the past year, but it was taking "a robust approach to stamping it out".

"We are continually assessing intelligence around where these factories are being set up, and who is involved in establishing and maintaining them, taking swift action when we have enough evidence to strike."

He added that the properties growing the drug often looked "perfectly normal from the street", as careful methods were put in place to cover up illegal activity.

Signs of a cannabis factory include unusual heat, strong smells, excess rubbish, constant lighting, secrecy, power issues, and odd visitor patterns.

The week-long national policing operation, Operation Mille, is a continuation of Dyfed-Powys Police's Operation Scotney.

Running since January 2024 it is a CID-led operation, and has seen cannabis worth over £12 million in street value seized across the forces catchment area, along with tonnes of commercial scale heating and lighting equipment.

Warrants have been executed at more than 40 industrial scale cannabis factories.

The force said the operation had proven to be "its widest and most successful drugs operation to date".