POLICE have shut down another cannabis factory in a Suffolk town - less than a month after three other similar operations were discovered in the county.

Lizzie Parry

POLICE have shut down another cannabis factory in a Suffolk town - less than a month after three other similar operations were discovered in the county.

The latest factory was uncovered at a property on Kingfisher Avenue, Ipswich, after officers raided the house at about 10.30am yesterday morning.

Approximately 350 cannabis plants were seized from the premises, ranging in size from seedlings up to plants two feet high.

A 30-year-old man was arrested at the address at 11.30am on suspicion of production of cannabis.

He is currently at Ipswich police station and was due to be questioned by detectives last night.

Yesterday's discovery is the latest in a number of cannabis seizures across the county.

Figures released earlier this month under the Freedom of Information Act showed that 4,000 plants have been seized by police since April.

Nearly 3,000 further plants have been discovered since that data was made available - including four raids carried out over the last month.

On December 3, two separate factories were located at properties in Felixstowe Road, Ipswich and The Street in Cavenham near Bury St Edmunds.

At the five-bedroom bungalow on Felixstowe Road about 1,000 plants were seized closing down a potentially lucrative operation worth up to £1m.

On December 4 another separate seizure was made by police officers after a raid on a house in Lister Road in Ipswich, where 841 plants were found, with a potential value to the cultivators of around £3m.

Yesterday's discovery brings the number of cannabis plants seized by police within the last month to nearly 3,000 and officers are asking members of the public to remain vigilant and for anyone who suspects a cannabis factory has been set up in their community to get in touch immediately.

In recent appeals police issued possible signs of a cannabis factory for the public to watch out for.

These include permanently covered windows, visits to a home at unusual times of day and night, a vent protruding through the roof or a rear window, pungent smells, cooling fan noise and large numbers of soil and pots in the back garden.

Anyone who suspects that a premises is a cannabis factory is asked to call police on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.