THREE Chinese immigrants accused of being involved in a massive cannabis-growing operation on a York industrial estate have appeared in court.

Lia Chen, 26, Jun Wang, 25, and a 17-year-old youth were all arrested at a food warehouse near the city this week during a police swoop which is alleged to have uncovered a commercial drug crop claimed to be worth up to £500,000.

Scenes of crime officers and forensic science experts were still at the Yunda Oriental Food Distribution depot at Elvington Industrial Estate yesterday, and have now taken away more than 1,500 suspected cannabis plants as they continue to gather evidence in the aftermath of their major operation at the site.

North Yorkshire Police’s organised crime unit raided the warehouse on Wednesday afternoon and found the plants at the centre of the investigation – most of them fully-grown – stored in several rooms across two floors at the back of the building.

The three men arrested at the scene, who are all of no fixed address, were taken into custody and charged with being concerned in the production of cannabis.

The teenager who faces the allegation cannot be named for legal reasons.

They appeared before York Magistrates Court yesterday, speaking through a Cantonese interpreter to confirm their names, ages and lack of addresses in the UK during the brief hearing.

The trio’s solicitor, John Howard, did not apply for bail and magistrates remanded the defendants in custody until next Friday, when they will return to the same court for a further hearing.

The Crown Prosecution Service is now preparing committal papers in order for the case to be sent to a Crown Court after the magistrates decided the case was too serious for them to deal with.

The court also heard prosecution claims that the crop could be worth between £300,000 and £500,000.

Detective Constable Paul Johnson, of the organised crime unit, who is also North Yorkshire Police’s drugs co-ordinator, said: “We are continuing to look at gathering evidence from the building where these plants were found and our inquiries are ongoing.

“All these plants have now been removed from the scene, although some of the equipment found at this site is still there.”

•An unemployed man involved in a multi-million pound drug-supply conspiracy has been jailed for ten years following his arrest at Scotch Corner in July last year.

Gerald John Dutton, 61, of Woodbridge, Suffolk, helped a gang to bring two separate cannabis loads worth £10 million into the UK from Spain.