TWO men have been charged over a large 600 plant cannabis grow in a derelict sweetshop in the centre of a  Worcestershire town.

Beldar Meta, 20, and Erjon Boshku, 39, have both been charged with the production of cannabis following the drugs raid at 4 High Street in Droitwich on Wednesday.

Both men were understood to be living at the address when the warrant took place and indicated guilty pleas when they appeared before magistrates in Kidderminster on Thursday.

Both are next due to appear at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday, July 5.

We have previously reported how the dramatic drugs raid at a derelict former sweetshop led to the discovery of a massive 600 plant cannabis grow.

RESPONSE: Police at the scene of the cannabis grow in Droitwich High Street where two arrests were made RESPONSE: Police at the scene of the cannabis grow in Droitwich High Street where two arrests were made (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

Two arrests were also made as officers smashed their way into the former shop at 4 High Street in Droitwich at 7am on Wednesday.

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Both were arrested on suspicion of the production of cannabis, a class B drug, and were in custody at Worcester Police Station in Castle Street.

The estimated value of the cannabis, if sold in street deals, was estimated by police at £491,000.  Every single plant will now be catalogued and destroyed.

Officers from West Mercia Police smashed their way inside using an enforcer (a metal battering ram) and a rabbit, a hydraulic entry device, discovering plants at various stages of maturity and in nine rooms spread over three floors. 

The warrant was a joint effort between Droitwich Safer Neighbourhood Team, who gathered intelligence based on concerns raised by the community, and the Neighbour Crime Fighting Team (NCFT) who secured a court warrant. A heavy smell of cannabis still hung in the air as shoppers walked along the High Street - and it was the smell that alerted the public.

It is understood the grow was powered by abstracted electricity which had to be capped off by workers from the National Grid before it was cut altogether which involved digging up the pavement outside.