Six-month crackdown brings £1m drug haul

During the operation, in Selby, which was sparked by residents' concerns over the scale of drugs in the town, officers raided nearly 40 houses, farm buildings and industrial units suspected of being involved in drug production, making 103 arrests.

While some class A drugs were recovered, the majority were home factories producing high-strength skunk cannabis, with one drugs warrant at a farm in Biggin discovering 162 plants valued at as much as 1,000 each.

Inspector Chris Witty said: "I was very surprised at the scale of some of the drugs operations in the town. But this is a real result, especially as a lot of our information came from the public.

"We are even getting feedback from known drug users in the town that they are having to travel out to other areas because the price of drugs has now gone up so much in Selby."

Operation Orate ran between June and November.

During that time, officers seized 745,000 of cannabis, 250,000 worth of equipment used in the cultivation of cannabis, and class A drugs with a street value of 5,000.

The operation was established in response to concerns raised by residents at joint action group meetings and the local community engagement forum about drugs issues in Selby.

Officers estimated that each plant of cannabis seized during the operation carried a street value of between 800 and 1,000 per plant.