POLICE seized 1200 cannabis plants valued at more than $2.5 million from thick bushland near Uki this week.

And they are warning it is just the first round of this year's Cannabis Eradication Program (CEP).

Between Monday and Tuesday officers trekked into dense terrain to locate the illegal crops.

It was a sign of the success of previous cannabis eradication programs that growers were being forced to plant smaller numbers of crops in deeper and denser bushland, the new commander of the Drug Squad, Detective Superintendent Tony Cooke said

"If you go back 15 years, the crops we were finding contained thousands of plants," Det Cooke said.

"Nowadays, with growers desperately trying to avoid police detection, the crops are far more likely to be numbered in the dozens."

This week's operation will continue until Friday when all the seized plants will be destroyed.

Participating in this week's round are the SCC Drug Squad, the Dog Unit, the Aviation Support Branch (ASB), Metropolitan Radio Network Services and the Tweed/Byron Local Area Command.

The CEP is generally operational during cannabis growing season which stretches from the late spring through summer and into early autumn.

Police ask that anyone with information concerning the growth, manufacture or distribution of illicit drugs contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.