1,000 cannabis plants found on West Bromwich estate

The drugs were found at a former refrigeration warehouse in Queens Court Industrial Estate off Greets Green Road.

As well as hundreds of plants – each worth up to £500 – equipment to heat and water them was also discovered.

Police swooped on the premises after investigating reports of a burglary.

A 29-year-old man carrying a cannabis plant was arrested in Greets Green Road and a sniffer dog was used to trace his movements back to the factory.

Police believe the factory was run by a Vietnamese gang and may have been raided by another criminal gang shortly before officers discovered it.

The factory contained ten rooms with evidence people had been living there including bedding, clothing, dirty pots and pans with half-eaten food and a Buddhist shrine.

Police today described the operation as like a "conveyor belt of cannabis."

Mike Hall, West Midlands Police's cannabis disposal team manager, said: "We have cuttings of female plants, we have plants that are nearly fully grown and plants that are at the flowering stage.

"We also have rooms filled with harvested plants. We expect the gang to have been here for a good few months. The plants have a 15-week growing cycle. The gang would have planned to have remained here undiscovered for as long as possible."

One person has been arrested on cultivation of the class B drug and was today helping police with their inquiries.

The raid at 1.30am yesterday morning is just the latest to take place in Sandwell in recent weeks.

In November hundreds of cannabis plants with a street value of more than £250,000 were found during a raid in a flat above an Indian restaurant in Tipton. Police made the discovery after workers at nearby businesses close became suspicious.