Police seize £1 million worth of cannabis from streets of Keighley

West Yorkshire Police found a large-scale cannabis factory on Tuesday

Author: Rory GannonPublished 30th Mar 2024

West Yorkshire Police have uncovered a large cannabis factory in Keighley with an estimated street value of over £1 million.

Officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team in Keighley have launched an investigation after uncovering the scheme on Tuesday (March 26th).

The cannabis factory was found at a disused commercial building found on Alice Street in the centre of the town.

Over 1,000 plants were recovered by the force, who had been carrying out a significant anti-drugs operation on the buildings in the run-up to the raid.

The cannabis factory was discovered on Alice Street in central Keighley

Six arrests were made as a result of the police operation; of these, three men aged between 35 and 43 were later charged with producing controlled drugs.

As well as this, work was also carried out by investigators at the premises to make the location safe.

Speaking on the case, Inspector John Barker from the Keighley Neighbourhood Policing Team said that several other organisations had collaborated to bring down the operation.

"We have been working hard with partner agencies and the community under Keighley Together to tackle drugs related crime in Keighley," Mr Barker explained.

"This operation has very much been part of that ongoing work, and demonstrates our commitment to getting drugs off our streets.

“We know that drugs such as those recovered cause long term misery for people and fuel crime and anti-social behaviour in the area and warrants such as the one we executed in this operation aim to tackle that."

He finished: “This warrant was made possible by the community information and intelligence that we have received. I would encourage anyone who has suspicions about drugs and drug dealing to report them."

West Yorkshire Police are now appealing to the public for any other potential leads that could lead to the takedown of other cannabis factories.

Anyone who might have any relevant information can get in touch with West Yorkshire Police by calling 101.

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