POLICE have mounted one of their biggest raids in years targeting Huddersfield’s drugs network.

And they believe a major operation has been shut down in the town as a result of Operation Tagford.

Officers swooped on 23 properties across Huddersfield in the space of a few hours yesterday.

They included homes and business premises.

The action was prompted by tip-offs and intelligence gathered by officers.

And the raids uncovered three cannabis factories, hundreds of plants and a suspected counterfeit DVD factory.

The seized drugs were worth many thousands of pounds.

Uniformed and plain clothes officers carried out the raids which focused around suspected drug activities.

The raids began at garage premises in St John’s Road, Birkby, just 100 yards from the busy ring road.

Sealed yellow bins containing suspected cannabis plants could be seen being hauled from St John’s Garage.

Police spent some hours at the scene and forensic experts were also called in to carry out searches of the large premises, which had been used as a workshop for many years.

In addition to the cannabis factory uncovered in St John’s Garage, officers found other factories set up in properties in Grasmere Road in Marsh and Clare Hill, Huddersfield.

Further linked raids were carried out in Blacker Road, Birkby; Trinity Street, Huddersfield; Eldon Road, Marsh; Gledholt Road, Gledholt; Sunningdale Road, Crosland Moor; and Moor End Road, Lockwood.

The suspected counterfeit DVD operation was also discovered at Moorside Avenue, Crosland Moor.

Sgt Mandy Mellor of the Huddersfield South Neighbourhood Policing team (NPT), who co-ordinated Operation Tagford said: “This has been a huge operation for the Huddersfield South NPT, supported by our colleagues from across the force and by our external partners.

“Now that we have people in custody, the hard work of analysing all of the evidence we have seized begins.

“We hope that this operation will show the people of Huddersfield that we act on all information received and, where appropriate, will carry out large scale operations to arrest suspects.”

She continued to praise the efforts of Pc Rebecca Haslam adding: “Her early hard work led to today’s operation and to what we hope will be the closure of a major drugs enterprise that has been taking place across Huddersfield.”

The morning raid was led by officers from Huddersfield South NPT supported by other specialist police teams and partner agencies including Kirklees Council, The UK Border Agency, West Yorkshire Trading Standards, Revenue Protection Officers, npower and British Gas.

Three men aged 29, 40 and 55 were arrested during the operation and were all in custody last night pending further inquiries.