A New Addington man who took part in industrial-scale cannabis production has been convicted of drugs offences.

Shaun Byrne, 50, of Cator Close, was one of 18 people convicted this week after a four-year Metropolitan Police operation which was the largest ever in the UK.

He was found guilty of conspiracy to produce cannabis by a jury at the Old Bailey on Thursday. He will be sentenced on January 18.

Officers raided dozens of businesses, warehouses and houses during the investigation, seizing vast quantatties of equipment used to produce cannabis and £35,000 in cash.

Most of those convicted this week were drivers, cultivators or wholesalers for the drugs ring, which imported specialist production equipment from China and Holland to cannabis farms in the UK.

Commander Allan Gibson of the Met Police said: "This is the biggest investigation we have ever undertaken against organised criminals behind the cultivation of cannabis in the UK. We have been successful in dismantling a major criminal enterprise."