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Breaking Bad-style drug factory discovered in disused quarry with cannabis totalling £1m seized

Two Albanians were held in the swoop at Bethel Quarry near Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire

A HUGE Breaking Bad-style drug factory has been found in a disused quarry.

Cops seized an estimated £1million of drugs in its tunnels and have yet to chart the full size.

 A huge drugs factory has been found in a disused quarry in Wiltshire. Police are still studying the full extent of the maze of tunnels
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A huge drugs factory has been found in a disused quarry in Wiltshire. Police are still studying the full extent of the maze of tunnelsCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

Two beds were inside, and two Albanians held in yesterday’s swoop.

The set-up echoes TV’s Breaking Bad where drug kingpin Walter White ran a lab underground.

Sources say the farm at Bethel Quarry near Bradford-on-Avon, Wilts, could dwarf the previous biggest, found 26 miles away at the former Chilmark nuclear bunker last year.

Three men were jailed after cops found 4,425 plants in 20 rooms with the potential to generate a £1.25million-a-year crop.

 Police at the entrance to the Wiltshire quarry where the drug factory was discovered
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Police at the entrance to the Wiltshire quarry where the drug factory was discoveredCredit: © Andrew Lloyd
 An old sign warns the public to keep out
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An old sign warns the public to keep outCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

Police said of the quarry find: “We are not sure how big the factory is because there are ­significant safety issues.”

Insp Nick Mawson added: “Locals are likely to see police presence as officers gather evidence.

“This work is anticipated to carry on into next week due to the size of the location.”

Bethel Quarry was owned by the Bath and Portland Stone Company.

It stored equipment in World War Two and later became a mushroom farm, closing in 2010.

 TV character Walter White amassed a fortune in Breaking Bad from an underground drugs bunker
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TV character Walter White amassed a fortune in Breaking Bad from an underground drugs bunkerCredit: AP:Associated Press
 More than 4,000 plants were found at the site with a potential value of more than £1million
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More than 4,000 plants were found at the site with a potential value of more than £1millionCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
 A cop car guards the quarry as investigations continue
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A cop car guards the quarry as investigations continueCredit: Andrew Lloyd

Tourists now flock to Bradford-on-Avon for its Roman villas. Its most famous resident was Antiques Roadshow host Hugh Scully, who died aged 72 in 2015.

Alksander Shyti, 45, and Altin Deda, 39, were due before Swindon JPs yesterday charged with the production of cannabis but interpreter issues meant it was postponed.


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