AROUND 3,000 cannabis plants with a street value of up to £500,000 have been seized at homes in Bucks in the last year, cops have revealed.

The massive find was made in just 15 warrants issued to police in the last 12 months - with most of them targeting homes in High Wycombe.

It has also been revealed that the problem relates to organised criminal gangs with worldwide connections filtering into the home counties from London.

The news comes as numerous cannabis raids have been made on houses over the past month, including in Downley, West Wycombe Road, in High Wycombe, and Bourne End.

Detective Inspector Steve Williams, leader of Operation Falcon in Bucks, said they were dealing with an underworld Vietnamese gang which probably has splinter groups all over the globe.

He said there has been a number of large seizures in High Wycombe which police believe are related to an Oriental organised crime group, mainly of Vietnamese nationals. Some of the suspects have been charged and remanded, he added.

"This is a national and international problem. It is certainly not unique to Bucking-amshire, it is happening in other countries across the world - Canada and other European countries, and the Met Metropolitan Police have had a huge problem with it and it is filtering into the home counties," he said.

Det Insp Williams said the cultivated drugs that were found have an estimated street value of between £250,000 and £500,000 and were taken from both individuals and organised criminals who intended to deal them.

Speaking exclusively to Midweek, he said the organised criminals had been pushed into the home counties by the success of the Metropolitan police's drug operations.

But he said it was also down to the criminals looking for new markets in which to grow and deal cannabis.

Last week Midweek reported how two Vietnamese men found in High Wycombe looking after a £165,000 cannabis crop, had been brought into the UK illegally by organised criminals.

Det Insp Williams said: "Part of their business plan is that they will people traffic as well and people will be brought in illegally to cultivate these cannabis factories."

He said cops were finding between 500 and 1,000 plants at some homes because production operations had become so organised.

But he said that houses were often crammed full of drugs which posed health and safety risks to the entire community.

He said faulty electrics used to cultivate the drugs were an obvious threat because of fire dangers.

Det Insp Williams said: "Every room as you walk in the door will be crammed from wall to ceiling with plants - they won't miss any room in the house.

"That takes a massive amount of heat so they will bypass the meter and go directly to the mains with very amateurish wiring which can have public safety issues."

He urged the public to look out for suspicious behaviour at privately rented houses, where most cannabis factories are found.

He added that there was no evidence in Bucks that dealers were bulking up cannabis with other materials to increase its strength.

He said: "High Wycombe has no bigger problem that any other town of its size in the country or certainly in the home counties. It has been an issue in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Wycombe certainly hasn't had as many issues as those neighbouring counties.

"From what we have seized it is more home grown than imported. Having said that in the crime group factories, that the drugs could be dealt anywhere in the country. It could be bagged and taken anywhere."

If you notice any strange behaviour in your neighbourhood which you believe may be drugs related, call Det Insp Williams via 08458 505 505, or if you do not wish to speak to police, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.