£40m cannabis farm found in tunnel under Deptford theatre
Police answering a break-in report on 1 October 2019 found a 70 ft tunnel from a Deptford house to the basement of the old Broadway Theatre, housing a large cannabis farm. Four people were arrested and released under investigation; police estimated a decade of production there could have topped £40 million.
🇬🇧 Tanner's Hill, Deptford, London · United Kingdom
Police found the farm after being called to a house on Tanner’s Hill in Deptford on 1 October 2019 over a reported break-in.[1][2]An officer noticed the toilet floor sounded hollow, and inspection revealed a tunnel dug from the bathroom, running to a private car park and on to the large basement of the old 750-seat Broadway Theatre, built in 1897 and converted in the 1960s.[1][2]The passage ran about 70 ft, with a hidden trap door at the house end and a second shaft for ventilation, and the growers had tapped into the mains power with underground cables.[1]
A decade-long operation
Police estimated the cannabis produced in the theatre basement over the past decade could have been worth more than £40 million, at roughly £4 million a year.[1][2]Three men aged 28, 45 and 47 and a 36-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis and have all been released under investigation.[1][2]Neighbours said drilling-like sounds had been heard for years without anyone realising a farm was next door.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Police Scotland raided a premises on Maitland Street in Tayport, Fife, on 12 November 2026 and found a cannabis cultivation with an estimated street value of up to £679,500. Two men, aged 41 and 37, were arrested and charged, and were due to appear at Dundee Sheriff Court on 13 November 2026.
Police Scotland carried out a drugs search warrant in Blair Street, Kelty, on the morning of 12 November 2026 and seized cannabis valued at £180,000. A 27-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman were arrested and charged in connection with drugs offences, and a report was to be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.
Cumbria police raided three houses in Carlisle on 6 November 2026, recovering cannabis and more than £2,000 in cash at one Rydal Street address. A 60-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing cannabis with intent to supply and released under investigation; two men were cautioned after a small amount of cannabis and cocaine was found at another Rydal Street address.
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.
