FIVE cannabis factories containing marijuana with a street value of £1 million have been busted in Swansea.

Police recovered in excess of 1,000 plants, and £10,000 of designer gear including a Louis Vuitton handbag and purse, Gucci sunglasses and Swarovski jewellery from the rented homes.

A further £10,000 in cash, plus chemicals and a "grow your own marijuana book" were also found.

Five Chinese men and two women, aged between 22 and 32, have since been charged with producing cannabis. One of the seven was arrested in the so-called factories, with the others arrested elsewhere.

Police believe they have made a significant dent on marijuana production in Swansea, which has the highest proportion of cannabis factories in South Wales, with 56 found this year alone.

"These were professional people living a very comfortable lifestyle on the proceeds of crime," said Detective Inspector Ron Devine.

"Normally we are only able to identify the 'gardeners' (people who live at the houses) — and the problem continues. These people are fairly high up the pecking order.

"We see this result as having significance. We think this will make a real dent on the production of cannabis."

The five houses were in Cockett Road, Cockett; Hawthorne Avenue, Uplands; Rhyddings Terrace, Brynmill; Vicarage Road, Morriston, and Bond Street in Sandfields. Mr Devine is urging landlords to be vigilant when renting out their properties to prospective tenants. "They should ask potential tenants what their reasons and motives are for wanting the premises," he said.

"If in doubt, we would urge landlords to call the police for advice, and tell prospective tenants that they carry out checks with police."

Landlords who accepted large amounts of cash upfront for their rented property could end up out of pocket, added Mr Devine.

"In the long-term landlords could end up with thousands of pounds worth of damage," he said. "We have already had one house fire at a cannabis factory in Fforestfach."

Mr Devine said four of the five factories were found between Sunday and Wednesday this week. The other one was discovered last month.

He said the 1,000-plus plants inside had the potential to reap vast ill-gotten rewards with up to four yields a year.

Mr Devine put Swansea's flourishing factory numbers partly down to its big rental accommodation market and large transient population. He said he was extremely pleased with the recent finds, which involved 25 staff working 16 to 18-hour days.

But he added: "This is time that could be better utilised. We hope it will make a significant impact on this kind of criminality."