From attics to warehouses and even in disused pubs, cannabis farms have been found in some remarkable places over the last 12 months.
Police officers have seized hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cannabis from the sites over the past year.
Here are some of the largest cannabis farms found by police in our region the last 12 months, and the faces and stories of some of those caught tending the crops.
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Only this week, six men were arrested and charged by Northumbria Police after officers found a cannabis farm and more than £100k in cash at a property on North Terrace in West Allotment, Newcastle.
The men were arrested as part of Operation Venetic, this country’s most significant crackdown on serious crime, and will appear in court in October.
In June, Adi Doda, 25, of no fixed abode pleaded guilty to one charge of producing a class B drug after cannabis plants were found inside the Railway Hotel in Rothbury.
The Rothbury pub closed in 2018 and stood empty ever since, but an electricity company raised concerns about the level of power usage.
Around 298 cannabis plants, with a street value of between £28,000 to £190,000, depending on their yield, were discovered.
Magistrates deemed that their powers to finalise the case were insufficient and committed Doda, who is from Albania and spoke through in interpreter, to Newcastle Crown Court.
In May, police found a cannabis farm on Gateshead High Street after noticing a strong smell coming from a property. Upon searching the property, they found 90 cannabis plants and that the electricity supply had been bypassed.
The farm was dismantled and police said the plants would be destroyed.
Anyone with information about the farm is being urged to contact officers.
Firefighters spent six hours at the house on Marlow Street in Blyth. Again, the electricity had been bypassed.
The drugs were seized and police launched an inquiry into the situation.
Also in April, six men were arrested after Northumbria Police officers forced their way into 24 homes in Gateshead in a series of raids as part of a national operation to tackle organised crime.
The investigation identified a network of suspected drug dealers believed to be responsible for building large-scale cannabis farms.
The largest farm uncovered by police was found in March. A Newcastle warehouse played host to £1m worth of cannabis in a farm the size of a football pitch.
Almost 1,500 plants were being cultivated over two floors at the site on Brunswick Industrial Estate. Anyone who may be able to assist police for information is asked to get in touch.
In February, officers found 50 mature cannabis plants being grown at a property on Frank Street in Wallsend. Again, the electricity had been dangerously bypassed.
The plants were seized after police spotted the house which suspiciously had no snow on the roof, suggesting a strong heat presence inside the property.
A 28-year-old male was interviewed and reported for cultivating cannabis.
Bypassing electricity is dangerous as it can cause serious fires - in June, emergency services were called to Croydon Road in Arthur's Hill, Newcastle to reports of a housefire.
Northumbria Police confirmed that a cannabis farm was discovered inside the address following the blaze.
It is believed that the fire was caused by an electrical fault as electricity had been bypassed at the address.
Also in February, a gang of suspected drug dealers were snared by police after a £100,000 cannabis farm was uncovered by police.
Eight men were arrested during raids in Elswick after detectives at Northumbria Police received intelligence about suspicious behaviour at the address.
It had been reported that large numbers of people had been coming in and out of the properties but nobody seemed to live there.
Detectives decided to target the two adjoining properties on Grainger Park Road and they found suspected cannabis farmers at each house.
The eight men appeared to be in the process of harvesting the drugs that were estimated to be worth more than £100,000.
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