CANNABIS SUSPECTS PACK JAILS

Nearly 60 persons, mostly of Vietnamese background, are now in custody
in Norway after police raided yet another house south of Oslo
Wednesday night and found a new cannabis plantation inside.

The modest house in rural Enebakk contained nearly 500 cannabis
plants, all being cultivated under sophisticated watering, lighting
and heating systems that ravaged the home's interior.

The raid was the latest in an ever-growing list of cannabis seizures,
as police uncover a widespread covert network of hash and marijuana
production in Norway. Similar operations have been uncovered in a long
list of other countries as well, in Europe and North America.

The houses have been rented from unsuspecting homeowners in quiet
neighbourhoods all over southern Norway, and then converted into
cannabis production plants, often involving the use of pirated
electrical and heating systems.

In most cases, the houses are rendered uninhabitable. The plants are
generally tended by Vietnamese gardeners, and police are actively
trying to find out who is behind them.

Of the five people arrested at Flatby in Enebakk Wednesday night, four
were Vietnamese. All are being held in remand custody, but small local
detention facilities are nearing the bursting point.

Around 50 cannabis plants were also found dumped on a trail outside
Ski earlier this week. It's unclear whether the plants are tied to the
unfolding network of cannabis plantations.