[420 Girl]

An elaborate underground cannabis factory made up of buried cargo containers has been found in West Sussex. The chance discovery was made by the police following a caravan fire. An above-ground shipping container led underground where a corridor separated eight identical units containing more than 300 cannabis plants, lighting, heating and insulating materials.

Firefighters were called to reports of a caravan fire on Monday and closer inspection led to the discovery of the drugs factory on land near Leigh Water Mill Farm, near Burgess Hill, West Sussex. The burning caravan was parked about ten metres from the above-ground shipping container which led to the submerged containers concealing the drugs haul.

Sussex Police said power to the factory appeared to have been provided by a nearby large generator. Officers had to excavate a layer of earth to reveal the containers underground. A police spokesman said: "The (underground containers) would not have been obvious to the naked eye, the only one showing being the surface access container."

Most of the cannabis plants had been cultivated, with their heads and leaves removed, but whole plants were also found. It is believed the factory may have been inactive for some time.

Detectives appealed to anyone in the local area who may have been involved in supplying materials such as cargo containers without knowing their purpose to come forward.

Detective Sergeant John Wallace, from Haywards Heath CID, said: "The site appears to have been deliberately created for this purpose and the undertaking of such an operation would have been significant in terms of the moving of cargo containers and submerging them under earth, along with arranging a strong generator power supply for heat and energy.

"This is clearly the undertaking of more than one person and the site has been in location for a period of time and would have required a significant amount of work to construct." Mr Wallace appealed to anyone in the area who may have seen or heard unusual activities or significant excavation work to contact investigating officers. No arrests have been made.

Sussex Police appealed to anyone with information to contact them on 0845 6070 999, quoting Operation Gortin, or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.

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