CANNABIS CLAMPDOWN SUCCESS

Vietnamese drug growers have moved on from Oxfordshire after police
seized about UKP750,000 worth of cannabis this year, officers believe.

Police have raided 26 properties this year where gangs have set up
sophisticated drug factories, seizing more than 5,000 cannabis plants
and arresting 15 people.

The majority of the raids took place in the first seven months of the
year, after a surge in the number of reports of suspicious houses.

Pc Leigh Thompson, drugs coordinator for Oxfordshire, believes the
high intensity of the raids and their exposure has convinced the drug
gangs to leave the city.

Pc Thompson said: "Earlier in the year we were doing a raid every
couple of weeks.

"Of course it got a little bit hot for them, and then they moved on to
another area - to Milton Keynes, which has got a problem now. We have
got on top of it but we are not going to be complacent."

Pc Thompson said the vast majority of cannabis factories raided were
producing skunk, a particularly potent type of the drug.

The gangs target rental properties, converting almost all the rooms
into growing rooms and putting in a 'minder' to monitor the operation.
Most of the rented houses had the electrical systems tampered with so
that power could be stolen from the general supply to provide extra
power for hydroponic lights, allowing the plants to flower up to four
times a year.

He said: "It is a well-organised operation. If you go into a cannabis
factory, every part of that house is taken over for the production of
cannabis.

"In one raid the only place that was plant-free was the
loo."

Five Vietnamese men have this year been jailed for a total of 91
months for their role in creating drug factories in Oxford.

Pc Thompson said: "From the evidence we have got it's solely a
Vietnamese enterprise."

Despite the hope that the gangs had moved elsewhere, he said there
could be as many as 15 more factories in the county which the police
did not know about, and urged residents to be vigilant.

Landlady Nima Mason, 38, was left UKP8,000 down after a cannabis factory
was created in her home in Harcourt Terrace, Headington, in May by
three South East Asian men and a woman who claimed to be students.

Officers found 250 cannabis plants with a street value of UKP28,000 at
the house, and Ms Mason lost four months in rent while waiting for her
electricity to be reconnected.

She said: "These people are really disgraceful. They are using
people's houses and using drugs to harm people.

"I was very shocked - I could not believe it when it happened to me.
The amount of drugs seized does not surprise me."

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR NEIGHBOURS can often spot tell-tale signs that
something is amiss, and tip off the authorities.

These include windows permanently covered, visits to properties at
unusual times of the day or night, a pungent smell and vents placed in
the property to remove condensation.

Acting Assistant Chief Constable George Wilson said: "In the majority
of cases an ordinary terrace or semi-detached house is specifically
bought or rented for the sole purpose of growing cannabis.

"The house is then kitted out with special hydroponic equipment which
is then used to produce up to UKP70,000-worth of cannabis every 11 or 12
weeks.

"These factories can cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to the
properties. They also pose a danger, as in many cases the electricity
is bypassed, which could cause electrocution or even a fire."

Call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 with
information.

FACTORY FACTFILE THE first cannabis factory in Oxford was found in
early 2006, but they had already proved a blight in other cities.

In London alone, 700 factories producing the Class C drug were shut
down in 2005.

In September 2006, 17 police forces across England and Wales declared
war on skunk factories, launching a series of raids.

In June this year, a hi-tech helicopter was being regularly deployed
to identify factories in Ulster.

Police estimate that in the mid-1990s only 10 per cent of cannabis in
the UK was skunk, but in the last 10 years the figure has risen to
about 60 per cent.

In 2007, 119 cannabis factories have been discovered across the Thames
Valley, compared with 42 in 2006.