CANNABIS dealers in York have been dealt a blow by detectives, after almost 15 kilos of the drug, with a possible street value of more than £60,000, was seized in a raid.

Officers from the city's "strike team" have scored two major successes in the struggle against drugs with two separate dawn raids on homes, the Evening Press can reveal.

In Lansdowne Terrace, off Lawrence Street, officers smashed their way into a property and discovered a stash of almost sixty 9oz bars of cannabis resin.

In an unconnected operation, police from the same unit discovered more than a dozen mature marijuana plants growing in the attic and shed of a home in Marston Avenue, Chapelfields.

One detective said those involved in the supply and distribution of cannabis should remember that their activities remain illegal, despite the downgrading of the drug eight months ago.

He said: "Now with the new strike team we have a dedicated group of officers that can react to information about crime straight away and get results like this."

Forensic experts are now analysing the cannabis resin - which sells for upwards of £100 for a "nine bar" (a nine ounce block) - seized in Lansdowne Terrace.

Officers also found a high-tech hydroponics growing system in Marston Avenue, with plants growing under special lights with climate control equipment and humidifiers.

One Lansdowne Terrace resident said a team of officers arrived and smashed the door down at about 7am one day last week. She said officers were later seen loading an unmarked police saloon car with filled black bin bags.

She said: "The whole street is talking about it, but nobody knows what happened.

"A young man lived there. He had a new car and I've seen him walking two pit bull terrier dogs, but it seems that no one has really spoken to him."

MPs voted late last year to downgrade cannabis from a class B to a class C drug. Penalties for possession have been lessened, but dealers could face a substantial jail term.

A man arrested at the raid in Lansdowne Terrace and a man and a woman arrested in connection with the Marston Avenue discovery have all been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Updated: 10:43 Monday, June 21, 2004