Cannabis crop worth £3-million found in disused Birmingham warehouse

Police raided a derelict warehouse near Birmingham city centre and uncovered a huge drugs factory suspected to be run by an organised crime gang.

Officers forced entry to the building in Bradford Street at 9.45am on Thursday (6 January) and found a sprawling cannabis factory spread across three storeys.

Police have confirmed a total of 3,112 plants were recovered during the raid. The crop is estimated to have a street value of around £3-million.

A police spokesperson stated the discovery was one of the biggest in recent months and officers suspect the money generated would have been used to fund organised crime.

Police also found the electricity supply at the warehouse had been bypassed to power the extensive lighting and extraction system – and a trench dug into the road to tap into the mains.

Three Vietnamese men, who are believed to be in the country illegally, were arrested at the premises and later charged with cannabis cultivation.

Cannabis Disposal Team Manager Mike Hall said: “We received intelligence suggesting the property was being used as a drugs factory and acted quickly on that information to execute a warrant.

“Cannabis factories like this are often linked to organised and violent crime, tend to attract anti-social behaviour, and are serious fire risks because of the way electricity is bypassed and the dodgy wiring.”