A £130,000 cannabis operation has been busted by police after seven people were arrested in raids in Newcastle last week.
Earlier this year neighbourhood police officers received concerns about suspicious activity at a block of city centre flats.
Newcastle City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team suspected the address was connected to drug dealing and launched a three-month operation.
That culminated in a strike phase at the start of the month that saw a vehicle linked to the property stopped by police after they witnessed a drug deal.
Two men were arrested and police seized nearly £3,000 in cash, 1kg of cannabis resin and four mobile phones from inside the car.
But the biggest haul of drugs and money was found after officers executed warrants at the flat in The Chare and a second property on nearby Blackfriars Court.
There officers uncovered 32kg of cannabis - worth a staggering £130,000 - stashed inside a number of vacuum bags. They also found £14,000 in cash.
A further two people were arrested and now the officer responsible for tackling drug dealing in the city centre has praised the residents for their support.
Sergeant Andy Percival, of the Newcastle city centre NPT, said: "We have seized a huge amount of drugs and so this really is a fantastic result.
“This is a major drug operation that has been operating in the heart of our city.
"Drug dealers often target some of the most vulnerable people in society and so to be able to take this cannabis off the street is really positive.
"This investigation will continue and we also want anyone who has information about this particular drugs operation to get in touch."
In total seven men and two women have been arrested in connection with the investigation. All of them have since been released under investigation.
Anyone who wants to report information about the operation to police should call 101 and ask to speak to the city centre neighbourhood policing team.
If you want to report suspicious behaviour in your community then call police on 101 or report it online at www.northumbria.police.uk/contact.
