The middle-aged man said he was “really annoyed” at what had gone on, saying he knew nothing about what had happened but was “disgraced round the area”.

Situated in a respectable and prosperous area of rural Co Down just five miles from Royal Hillsborough — home of the King’s official residence in Northern Ireland — the picturesque area is home to government ministers, judges and successful businesspeople.

Two weeks ago, police charged two Vietnamese men in connection with the cannabis farm.

Sitting side-by-side in a cell, 39-year-old Quy Nguyen and Anh Nguyen (35) appeared via video-link at Lisburn Magistrates Court, where they were each charged with four offences.

They are jointly accused of cultivating and possessing cannabis and having the class B drug with intent to supply on February 3 this year.

Quy is further charged with illegal entry to the UK, while Anh is accused of remaining in the UK beyond his permitted time.

A detective constable told the court he believed he could connect the men to their respective charges, and applied for a media ban on the address where the cannabis factory was uncovered.

Following the discovery on Saturday, a detective inspector described the operation as “a large and sophisticated cannabis farm which required searches by specialist police teams due to the size and set-up”.

“The closure of this operation will likely cause massive disruption to the criminals,” they added.

In court, the officer said that there was an ongoing operation at the property on The New Road in Hillsborough, so he was
seeking a reporting restriction on its location.

However, District Judge Rosie Watters said that given the address is part of the charge and was read out in open court, “I don’t have the power to do that”.

As neither of the defendants applied for bail, the judge remanded them into custody and adjourned the case.

The address given in court for each of the defendants was The New Road, in the countryside between Hillsborough and Anahilt.

That is the address of farmer Clive Weir, who lives there in a farmhouse with his family, but also has a farmyard with three large poultry sheds, several other agricultural buildings and an area which is used to store cars.

A poultry farmer whose family have lived in the area for decades, he said he knew nothing about what had happened.

When asked how he felt about the fact that the criminality was going on at his premises, a visibly unhappy Mr Weir said: “You’re here. How do you think I feel?”

Making clear his unhappiness at the police investigation, he went on to say, “Well if the f****** police would do something about it... where are they?”

Mr Weir said he wished he knew more about what was going on, but he had rented the shed to the individuals responsible. “They used the back entrance,” he said.

The farmer added he did not notice anything suspicious.

He said an electricity generator which neighbours said ran around the clock — to the irritation of some of them due to the noise — did not strike him as unusual because he has a generator for his poultry due to the price of electricity.

“I am really annoyed. I genuinely am annoyed with all this…It’s at my back door and I knew nothing — nothing — and I really mean that.

“I’m disgraced round the area. How do you think that feels?”

Another neighbour said lorries had been coming and going from the property regularly, but she assumed they were linked to the farm.

Locals said the police operation involved a helicopter and the round-the-clock presence of a large number of officers, with the yard being guarded night and day until the police had dismantled the drug-growing business.

Another neighbour said it was “always very busy” in the yard, with cars being stored on part of the site, as well as the farming activities. She added: “Honestly, I was so shocked.”

One of those in the area said that a smell of cannabis had been coming out of the drains because of the effluent from the shed, and that NI Water had been alerted to the issue.

When asked by the Belfast Telegraph to confirm that it had been aware of the issue and whether it had contacted police about it, NI Water said: “NI Water has no comment to make in relation to the recent PSNI investigation into a cannabis factory in Hillsborough.”

We put Mr Weir’s criticism of the police to the PSNI, and asked why it had not interviewed all those within a short distance of the shed.

The force said: “This is a live investigation, therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.

“Anyone with any concerns about drugs in their area should contact Police on 101.”