Pubdate: Tue, 14 Jul 2009 Source: Yorkshire Evening Post (UK) Copyright: 2009 Yorkshire Post Newpapers Ltd Contact: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/contactus.aspx Website: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2279 Author: Bruce Smith Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom) VIETNAMESE FORCED TO RUN YORKS CANNABIS FARMS Men from Vietnam are being forced to run cannabis farms after being illegally trafficked into the country, say police. But when they arrive in West Yorkshire they find themselves imprisoned in houses converted to grow the drugs. They then have to break the law as they pay back the thousands of pounds spent smuggling them into the country. West Yorkshire Police's drugs co-ordinator Bryan Dent, left, said: "Cannabis cultivation is a big organised business from getting the illegal immigrants into the country to tend and grow crops, to the outlay of setting up cannabis farms, to the money laundering of the cash from the selling of the drug." In the first six months of this year police in West Yorkshire closed down 215 cannabis farms. The sweat shop inside Yorks cannabis trade THE police officer leading the fight against cannabis farms in West Yorkshire has revealed how Vietnamese men who are illegally trafficked into the country are being forced to work in the drugs trade. The farms are converted homes - windows are blacked out, the houses rewired to supply the power for heat lamps to grow the cannabis plants and underground tunnels created to get to power supplies - at a cost of UKP30,000. West Yorkshire Police's Drugs Coordinator Bryan Dent told how organised criminal gangs contact Vietnamese men desperate to come to the UK for a better life. They pay out thousands of pounds to be trafficked into West Yorkshire and are then forced to move into cannabis farms across Leeds, Wakefield and Kirklees to pay off the traffickers. Many are shipped over, put in the back of a lorry and moved into the converted homes - often believing they are living in London. In the first six months of this year police in West Yorkshire closed down 215 cannabis farms. Mr Dent told the YEP: "There are many aspects around cannabis that disturb me. We are attempting to make West Yorkshire a hostile environment for those, often linked to organised crime and other criminality who cultivate cannabis commercially. "We continue taking a robust stance against cannabis and to ask the public to tell us of their suspicions. If they do so they are not just telling us about cannabis they also give us an opportunity to investigate people smugglers who flout international boundaries and exploit vulnerable people desperate to get to the UK in addition to stopping this harmful substance reaching our streets in West Yorkshire. "When we raid cannabis factories identified by the public we often find individuals inside who are illegal immigrants who have frequently started their journey to the UK by paying someone and being secreted in a cramped, dirty, smelly lorry for a number of days. "It is often the case that the person arrested in the cannabis farm had no passport, legitimate immigration papers, money and few possessions. "We often learn that the arrested person is required to work in the cannabis factory to pay off the fare they have incurred to enter the UK. "They are in debt for their passage to the UK, have no money, no clothing, and have had their passport taken from them by the owners of the cannabis farm and risk the reality of being sent back to Vietnam from where many of the arrested people originate." The gangs buy or rent houses - often paying six months rent up front then convert the premises into grow rooms for growing cannabis plants. "The conditions which these illegal immigrants often find themselves working in is akin to a sweat shop and they are required to stay in these conditions until such time as the owners of the cannabis farms estimate that they have paid off their debt. "The majority of the rooms are converted into cannabis growing rooms. They are hot, humid with no natural daylight - the perfect growing conditions for cannabis and maximising crops. Just one room is left in the house for sleeping and the kitchens are often sparse with very little food. "All windows are blacked out, all rooms are insulated with reflective materials to maximise heat and light. All without exception have extensive and complex electrical wiring systems to supply the heat lamps required to induce maximum growth. They do not pay for the huge amounts of electricity consumed, they bypass the metering mechanisms. "We have had a number of examples where tunnels have been dug underground, under pavements and roads to connect to an electricity supply to avoid detection. This power is indirectly paid for by bonefide customers through their electricity bills." He estimated that to rent and convert a typical property and install the equipment required could cost about UKP30,000 each. He added: "Our investigations show that there tends to be clusters of cannabis factories in an area so the cost is often replicated two, three or even four times in a concentrated area. Before any crops are produced there is some degree of initial outlay and organisation involved to equip the factories and recruit and employ the workforce. "This is another challenge for police to track the cash into the possession of the organiser." If you suspect there is a cannabis farm in your community contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Using cannabis, it's not OK, says man leading the fight WEST Yorkshire Police today pledged their fight against cannabis remains a priority and stressed that the substance is a serious threat to health. Mr Dent said dealers target young people with cannabis and move them on to more addictive Class A substances in the hope they will become addicted for years to come. He said:"Not all young people go on to take Class A drugs after using cannabis but it is concerning that the vast majority of Class A drug addicts usually started taking career cannabis, which unlike other drugs at the moment appears to be gaining in strength. "Whilst the police and partners are geared up to help support people who consume Class A drugs, we are acutely aware that cannabis users also need help to give up. Just as with cigarettes we know it's difficult, but we believe it is worth the effort and resources to direct people away from cannabis use. There are lots of drug treatment agencies who can help people who feel they want to give up cannabis use. "Whilst we have resources looking for cannabis farms and prosecuting the organisers we also have resources looking at the users of the end product. "Cannabis is not harmless - it is harmful and that there are inherent dangers, especially for young people who start using cannabis." " No doubt there are numerous examples of young people who have started using cannabis because 'its only cannabis it's okay' who have ended up with mental health problems, some of whom have died as a result of their drug abuse. We are very aware users are often young people who will fail to fulfil their potential if they continue to consume cannabis and in worst-case scenarios may get addicted to Class A drugs and even overdose and die," said Mr Dent "West Yorkshire police take a robust stance against cannabis not only because of the organised crime and huge profits involved, but because we have seen, and many mothers have experienced, the devastating results cannabis can cause." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake