BBC One broadcasted the moment Gwent Police exercised a search warrant that found over £140,000 worth of cannabis being farmed at a residential address in the Blaenau Gwent Valleys.
“The heat was unbelievable; it was absolutely boiling in there,” said PC Drew on the latest episode of BBC’s Rookie Cops, when remembering the search warrant.
“There were hundreds of plants, just like you see in the movies,” said PC Rhys, who was also present at the time.
Gwent Police found approximately 70 plants in the vacant property with a value of £2,000 each, so an estimated street value of £140,000.
The mass operation was on all three floors of the terraced property, which had boarded up windows and seemed abandoned at first glance.
The building hosted a sophisticated drugs operation, with lights, heaters and air extractor fans.
“They had bypassed the metre so that it is not recording how much electricity is being used,” said PC Dan.
This is just one operation, part of the £30 million worth of cannabis seized by the police force so far this year.
The drug dealers in charge of this operation are yet to be found by Gwent Police and investigations are ongoing.
Police believe they could have been live viewing their warrant as they had CCTV cameras in the corners of each room.
“If they are viewing it, then they are obviously already aware we have found it and will be making arrangements now to destroy evidence,” said another Gwent Police Officer.
The plants were taken away once the building was secured and then destroyed. The factory was also dismantled.
If you have any concerns about drugs in your area, you can let Gwent Police know on their website, or by calling 101.
Alternatively, you can report it to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
You can watch the full raid on BBC iPlayer now under the search Rookie Cops Series 2.
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