Australian police have made one of the biggest drug raids in the country's history after seizing a £22 million (AU $40million) cannabis crop.
Fourteen men were arrested over the bust, which was the result of a two-day search of three different properties in New South Wales.
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It's reported that 13,353 plants were seized across three properties along with 39 pounds of dried cannabis. The combined worth was a total of £22 million.
The men were all Vietnamese nationals and the group include a permanent resident, aged 31, and a 41-year-old person who is unlawfully in Australia. Two of them were on student visas and another two on bridging visas.
Their visas are being investigated by the Department of Home Affairs.
Operation Harthouse was behind the investigation in to an alleged large-scale cultivation and supply of the drug.
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Drug and Firearms Squad Commander Detective Superintendent John Watson said: "As far as cannabis seizures go, we have not seen one of this size since the 1970s.
"The biggest difference is in 1975 outdoor crops were seasonal, so criminal groups were restricted to one crop a year, whereas these grow houses are weather controlled enabling the harvest of new plants every 12 weeks or so."
State Crime Commander Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith added: "The significance of the arrests and seizures stretch far beyond the cannabis trade, it impacts the revenue made by these criminal groups to invest in other organised crime that places the community's safety and way of life under constant risk.
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"This is why the disruption and dismantling of organised crime is such a priority for NSW Police and we will continue to be dogged in our pursuit of those involved to put them before the courts."
The strike force was created in November last year with the aim of investigating the supply of cannabis around the New South Wales area.
Detectives and law enforcement have busted a total of six rural properties where they have charged 19 people so far.
They seized more than $60 million (£32.7 million) worth of the drug including plants and dried quantities - not including the latest bust.
State Crime Commander Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said that these organised criminal syndicates are usually not just restricted to one type of crime.
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He said: "Criminal syndicates will take the funds made from large-scale cultivation in cannabis and reinvest it into other criminal enterprises such as money laundering, manufacture of prohibited drugs like 'ice' and immigration fraud."
Featured Image Credit: NSW PoliceTopics: World News