Police have uncovered a cannabis factory producing drugs with an estimated street value of half a million pounds.
It was in a remote farm building in Sessay, near Thirsk.
More than 1,100 cannabis plants were growing there, alongside a sophisticated operation to dry and package the drug.
After neighbourhood officers discovered the secret factory last week, it took days to dismantle.
Experts say the plants alone had an estimated street value of more than half a million pounds.
Various lighting and equipment was seized. It will be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds too.
As officers entered the site at 6am, they were met by a large shepherd dog who was on his own. Cautious at first, they found he was very friendly. He will be rehomed.
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.”
