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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK police bust Vietnamese gang-run cannabis factories
Thanh Nien Daily, Vietnam
Tuesday 26 Sep 2006 Six Vietnamese suspects have been arrested during recent police raids in cannabis factories in West Yorkshire, the UK, the online Leeds today newspaper reported. Raids on houses in Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield and Shipley have found hi-tech systems set up to grow hundreds of plants at a time. The investigation is ongoing. More than 5,500 skunk plants, one of the strongest types of cannabis, have been recovered so far this year. The street value of the skunk has been put at between £1.5 million and £2million. Similar Vietnamese gangs in other parts of Britain are known to have used trafficked children brought from Asia to tend the plants. Police are investigating whether similar activity has been taking place in Leeds. In some of the houses raided, every piece of available room space had been turned over to the operation, barring small spaces for the growers to sleep, cook and use the toilet. Tens of thousands of pounds had been invested in equipment such as lights, heaters and ventilation equipment. In each house, police found the electricity meter had been bypassed to avoid bills for the huge amounts of power needed. Skunk cannabis cultivation is not restricted to overseas criminals, but since February all 15 skunk factories raided in West Yorkshire have been run by Vietnamese growers. Bryan Dent, pictured, West Yorkshire Police's force drugs coordinator, said: "The Vietnamese involvement is relatively new for West Yorkshire and we are keen to stamp it out early. We want to protect our communities from all this skunk. "People sometimes say 'it's just cannabis.' It isn't. This is well organized, serious crime." http://www.thanhniennews.com/overseas/?catid=12&newsid=20457
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