Eight arrested as police uncover concealed cannabis factory near Castlewellan
Police searched 11 locations across Northern Ireland on 21 May 2013 and uncovered a concealed cannabis factory in Ballyward near Castlewellan, arresting seven men and a woman. Police put the drugs' street value at £350,000 and seized seven luxury vehicles worth more than £100,000.
🇬🇧 Ballyward, near Castlewellan, County Down · United Kingdom
Police searched 11 locations across Northern Ireland on Tuesday 21 May 2013 in an operation against a suspected organised crime gang, and found a concealed cannabis factory in rural Ballyward near Castlewellan.[1][2]Officers arrested seven men and a woman in the raids; five remained in custody while the other three were released on police bail.[1]Police estimated the street value of the drugs at £350,000.[1][2]
Officers also seized seven vehicles valued at more than £100,000, including two BMWs and a Mercedes.[1][2]The second outlet confirms two BMWs and a Mercedes were taken alongside the £350,000 drugs find at the County Down factory.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
No plant count or weight for the seized drugs was published, only the £350,000 police valuation.
Five of those arrested remained in custody while three were released on bail, and no charges or later outcome were reported in these sources.
A newspaper photograph of the seized cars and the factory was described in coverage of the raids, but no direct image address could be recovered, so this report has no pictures.
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West Midlands Police found a substantial amount of cannabis plants in two rooms of a property on Littleworth Avenue in Woodsetton, Dudley, during a drugs warrant on 6 November 2026. No arrests were made and the force said its investigation was continuing.
