The huge cannabis-growing operation. Pictures: Ian Sheppard

More than 1,000 cannabis plants were found when detectives raided a Shropshire drugs “factory”.

Detectives swooped on the warehouse in Stafford Park, Telford, to find it packed with the plants, “worth hundreds of thousands of pounds”, which formed a huge drug-growing operation. Forensic teams and drugs squad officers worked through the night, scouring the 30 sq metre factory for clues to discover who was masterminding the operation. 

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Officers remained at the unit today. They said the investigation could take several days due to the volume of plants.

Heat in the building, which was separated into at least 10 “nursery-style” rooms, reached 33C (91F) when officers arrived yesterday morning.

A detective from the Telford police drugs unit said: “There is certainly hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cannabis plants in here, but it is too early to even estimate an exact value yet.

“This is definitely the biggest haul we have ever had.

“The whole construction which has gone into such a sophisticated operation has to be considered too. 

“Everything has numbers, from the plugs to the heaters and the water system,” he added.

“They clearly know what they are doing. It was still all up and running when we came here.”

Huge tubes were also installed by the ringleaders behind the drug-growing business to extract the moisture and smell from the factory.

On an exclusive tour of the “cannabis factory”, detectives revealed how the plants were packed into separate rooms depending on their age.

The cannabis growers even had their own living accommodation in the warehouse offices. Two double mattresses with bedding were found, along with a television, DVD player, and a kitchen with a cooker, fridge, and washing machine. 

The criminals’ clothes were still in suitcases in the untidy living area.

When specialist drugs detectives raided the warehouse yesterday morning, they were forced to call in engineers to cut the electricity in case it was “booby trapped”.

The detective said: “There’s homemade wiring absolutely everywhere. 

“They have completely missed all of the fuse boxes and gone straight to the mains from outside.”

The drugs squad team said they would expect to find about 300 plants in a house raid, but had never uncovered an operation with as many plants as they did yesterday. 

Two plants from each section will now be sent off for analysis and the rest will be destroyed.

It is understood the owner of the unit contacted police after arriving at the unit yesterday morning. 

Eyewitnesses said he walked down the side of the building and noticed the smell of the illegal drugs. He then opened up the unit, which he believed was empty, to find the drugs operation.

He immediately called police who arrived on scene within five minutes.

The cannabis-growing factory was fully working when they arrived. Two men of Chinese origin were seen fleeing the scene.