Police shut down £500,000 cannabis factory near Thirsk

A cannabis factory worth around £500,000 has been shut down after police discovered it on an agricultural premises at Sessay, near Thirsk.

The discovery was made last week by neighbourhood officers, who found more than 1,100 cannabis plants, as well as dried cannabis, packaged in approximately 500g-1kg bags.

The farm took several days to dismantle, with various lighting and equipment, also seized.

Seven men from the West Yorkshire area have been arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis. All seven have been interviewed and released on conditional bail.

Neighbourhood Inspector for Hambleton, Rory Sadler said: “We received community intelligence suggesting there was a cannabis farm at the location, we conducted enquiries and were subsequently granted a warrant by magistrates.

"We executed the warrant and discovered a large, commercial scale cannabis farm. I’m grateful to the member of the public who contacted us with this information.

"The production of a cannabis grow on this scale causes significant issues for communities, as it is often linked to violence, exploitation and other forms of criminality.

"Illegal enterprises such as this will not be tolerated in North Yorkshire and we will always work to proactively remove them."

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