Cannabis plants worth more than £4m found

A cannabis farm containing more than 5,000 plants with an estimated value of £4.3m has been found by members of the public in Telford.

The discovery was made on Wednesday at a unit on Haybrook Industrial Estate in Halesfield where the plants were spread across 16 rooms.

West Mercia Police said there was also evidence that a grow had already been cropped in the building, and that people may have been living there.

No one was found in the property however and no arrests were made.

"Cannabis farms such as this are often linked to serious and organised crime gangs, and the drugs they sell have a negative impact on our communities and can lead to other localised criminality," said Det Sgt Ryan Forster from Telford CID.

"The cultivation of these crops can also lead to the harm and exploitation of vulnerable people, as well as being extremely dangerous as often electrics are tampered with, which can lead to fires," he added.

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