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."