An eight-month investigation uncovered a major growing operation near Grenoble, as French police  seized this week 4,000 cannabis plants, about 1,100 kg, from a large indoor grow warehouse operated by French and Albanian nationals in a village in southeastern France . 

According to the public prosecutor's office, after an eight-month investigation, six people were arrested and jailed in Morette, a village of about 400 people located about thirty kilometers west of Grenoble in the French Alps. 

In late October 2022, police opened a preliminary investigation after information pointed to a warehouse that could be used as an indoor cannabis cultivation site, according to the public prosecutor's office. 

The investigation revealed "a large-scale trafficking operation" involving an Albanian team linked to residents of Grenoble. 

On Monday, a judicial operation led to the arrest of four Albanians aged 18 to 35, as well as a 52-year-old associate from Grenoble and the 55-year-old owner of the warehouse. 

The large warehouse had two complexes. In the first, a production facility of 375 square meters equipped with electrical, ventilation, hydration, UV and drying systems, more than 1550 plants or 508 kg were discovered. 

In a second structure of 300 square meters, 2,500 plants weighing 693 kilograms were seized. The growing equipment and plants, worth around 10-15 million euros in resale value – were destroyed on site with the authorization of the public prosecutor's office. 

Two Albanian "farm workers" were sentenced this week to 7 and 10 months of immediate imprisonment, along with 5 years of deportation from France. 

The other four suspects were brought to court on Friday and remanded in custody pending their sentencing, scheduled for August 9. 

The seizure follows a massive drug operation in the UK, where authorities seized 182,000 cannabis plants with an estimated value of between £115m and £130m (€134m and €150m). 

More than 450 people have been criminally charged as a result of the operation, which British police described as "the largest national operation of its kind by UK law enforcement".