Dozens of bags of cannabis were discovered hidden in a microwave in St Helens as police searched houses and stopped as part of a large scale drug crackdown across the town.
The haul was discovered while police searched an address in Coral Avenue, Thatto Heath.
In total officers found 42 bags of cannabis.
A 32-year-old man from Thatto Heath was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class B drugs and taken to custody for questioning.
Police stopped 21 cars on Queensland Avenue and Elephant Lane yesterday where two vehicles were seized by police for having no insurance, and a further 17 people were also stopped and spoken to by police.
The police crackdown saw 30 officers deployed around the Thatto Heath, Fingerpost and areas close to the town centre on Monday where they carried out a large number of stop searches.
A 16 year old boy was arrested on Albion Street after being he was found with cannabis. Police also recovered a suspected stolen bike.
Local Policing inspector Neil Birkett said: "The aim of these deployments are to reassure local residents, reduce crime and gain further intelligence from communities living in the area.
"These deployments allow us to speak with the public, which we really enjoy as well as getting their thoughts on this style of policing.
"In addition to the high visibility patrols and vehicle check points, we also use plain clothes officers, open land searches, licenced premises visits, pre-planned search warrants and other activity to disrupt criminals who operate within our communities.
"Carrying, dealing or using drugs come with significant consequences and we want to reduce this as much as we can, as well as educate young people that there is so much more to life than getting involved in criminal activity.
"We will continue to work with our multi agency partners, carrying out various styles of police developments and tactics to make sure St Helens is a safe and enjoyable place to live, work and visit."
