Cannabis farm worth more than £2 million seized by officers in Tameside

Officers from our Tameside Neighbourhood Policing Team have uncovered a cannabis farm worth more than £2 million after they executed a warrant on Ash Road in Droylsden this morning (Monday 1 December 2025).

Following extensive intelligence gathering, supported by thermal imaging footage from a police drone, officers struck at 7am and located the grow, which was housing thousands of plants.

Further detailed inspection found the electricity supply had been bypassed too as part of a sophisticated setup.

Six men and a woman - aged between 21 and 44 - have all been arrested on suspicion of cultivation of cannabis. They all remain in custody for questioning.

Chief Inspector Tim Rudd from our Tameside District said: “This operation demonstrates our commitment to tackling organised crime and removing harmful drugs from our communities. The scale and sophistication of this cannabis farm highlight the lengths criminals will go to in order to profit from illegal activity.

“Thanks to intelligence-led policing and the use of specialist resources, including drone technology, we’ve successfully disrupted their activities and prevented millions of pounds worth of drugs from reaching our streets.

“We will continue to act on information, work with our partners, and take decisive action to keep Tameside safe and protect the public.”

Would you know if a property was being used to cultivate drugs? A powerful distinctive sweet, sickly aroma; frequent visitors throughout the day and night; blacked out windows; chinks of bright light throughout the night; birds gathering on the roof, particularly in cold weather; noise from fans; large amounts of rubbish including compost bags; electricity metre being tampered with.

Individually these activities may seem commonplace, however, together may indicate something more suspicious.

Information from the public plays an incredibly important role in these warrants time and time again – please let us know if you have any concerns about drug activity in your local area.

If a crime is in progress, always dial 999. Alternatively, you can report it online at www.gmp.police.uk using the ‘Live Chat’ function.