The New England Target Action Group (TAG) battled rough, wet and rugged terrain to scale the large property at Wytaliba, off Old Grafton Road, before unearthing the drug crop.

“A property of some 14,000 hectares was searched utilising the local Target Action Group team members on foot and trail bike riders,” New England Detective Inspector Ann Joy told Fairfax Media.

“During the course of that one-day operation, police seized a total of 1441 mature cannabis plants with an approximate street value of $2.8 million.

“Those plants have been seized by police and will be subject to examination and destruction.”

No arrests or charges have been laid in relation to the bust but police said investigations are continuing into the haul.

Officers battled the elements during the targeted raid.

Heavy rain meant there was no aerial support or police drone that could be used, forcing the officers to scale the remote property on foot.

The seizure comes one year on after the force’s cannabis eradication program which saw $8.3 million worth of the drug seized in the New England area, around Tenterfield, Glen Innes and Tingha, in December, 2016.

Detective Inspector Joy said the Wytalibah search warrant was a New England TAG-led operation, using only local resources.

“This is a good result and is in response to ongoing information gathered from a number of sources from the general public,” she said.

“This drug is damaging to the community and it is concerning in the quantity of these seizures and the prevalence of that drug within the community.

“It means we will continue to target that activity whenever we have the information available to us to do that, and we would encourage community members to report suspicious activity.”