POLICE who swooped on a Greenock town centre building in response to a New Year's Day tip-off about a cannabis cultivation are today still assessing the value of the plants seized.

Plain clothes officers were seen entering and exiting the property on Nicolson Street following an after-dark raid as the investigation into the discovery continued.

As the operation entered its third day yesterday, there was no official update from police with regard to the number of plants found, or their value.

A Police Scotland spokesperson told the Telegraph: "Enquiries are ongoing."

However, it is understood that no arrests have made in relation to the illegal cultivation and that officers were yet to establish its value.

Police were acting on information received on New Year's Day when they raided the building.

The force spokesperson: "We were made aware of cannabis being grown at a property on Nicolson Street in Greenock around 6pm on Sunday, 1 January."

A cordon remained in place amid a flurry of police activity at the building.

The swoop came nearly a year after one of the biggest cannabis farms in Inverclyde was discovered within a former shop on nearby West Blackhall Street.

Police swooped on the former Poundstretchers store last January and uncovered hundreds of plants believed to worth around £1 million.

Other notable cannabis seizures in the recent past include another haul on West Blackhall Street in December 2021 which netted £40,000 worth of the drug.

That operation involved the use of the Police Scotland helicopter, which used on-board technology to detect 'an unusual heat source' in the area.

In May last year 40 cannabis plants were seized during a raid on a flat on Bearhope Street.

Pictures by Alex Craig