Vietnamese gangs force migrants to work in Hull 'cannabis factories'  

OPERATION: £860,000 of plants discovered in a unit on the Sutton Fields industrial estate in east Hull

POLICE are warning of the increasingly professional tactics used in cannabis factories run by Vietnamese gangs.

Officers recently discovered more than £860,000 of plants in a converted factory unit on the Sutton Fields industrial estate in east Hull.

It was being operated by a group of Vietnamese workers, who had been coerced into running and living in the factory by gangmasters.

Sergeant Mick Stevenson, of Hull's community reassurance team, said: "The one we found recently was a really professional set-up.

"Tens of thousands of pounds had been spent converting the factory unit so it had living quarters as well as a sophisticated cannabis factory."

Police believe the people running the factory, who were not caught, fled after an attempted break-in at the site in Bergen Way by jumping from the second floor.

The following day, officers discovered the factory, which contained more than £860,000 of plants, tonnes of soil and living quarters, which had been built inside.

So far, nobody has been arrested in connection with the operation.

Sgt Stevenson said: "They had more than likely been forced to live in there, locked in, and do what they were told to do.

"They tend to be there under duress and we don't know what threats have been made to them.

"There will have undoubtedly be some gangmaster involved who put them in there, probably on the promise of a better life, which never materialises. Those people distance themselves as much as possible, so it is really difficult to find out who is at the top of the chain.

"Of course, the people that have been put in there could just walk away, but they don't know anybody and they have nowhere to go.

"As far as the people bringing them over here are concerned, they are out of sight, out of mind."

Sgt Stevenson said, because the Vietnamese people drafted in to run the factories have often been exploited, they are treated sensitively.

"We have to treat them with some sympathy," he said.

"We don't know why it is particularly Vietnamese people, but they do seem to be very organised.

"For people further up the chain, it is probably the easiest and safest option to use people who don't know anybody and have no knowledge of the systems in this country.

"There is no getting away from the fact that what they have been doing is illegal, but they are almost like a victim.

"They often can't speak any English, can't communicate, and will have been put under a considerable amount of pressure.

"This is often reflected in the sentences they are given at court, which recognises their position."

Yesterday, Vietnamese grower Duong Ngoc was jailed for a year after he was forced to "shut himself away" and grow a "large-scale" cannabis farm in a house in Hornsea.

Hull Crown Court heard he was told to grow the plants in exchange for food and money - but never saw a penny of the profit.

Neighbours alerted police to the farm after smelling the drug's potent odour through the walls of their homes in New Road.

Police found a sophisticated cannabis factory inside, with 257 plants with a street value of £66,080 and 122 picked plants, worth £31,000.

Defending Duong, John Thackray said: "The defendant was merely a gardener being used by others.

"He expected to receive some payment but he received none and he was considering leaving either that day or the following day."

Duong sobbed in the dock as Judge Michael Mettyear jailed him.

Judge Mettyear said: "You knew what you were doing was wrong.

"You must have realised this was a large-scale production line.

"It was sophisticated and the potential for gain was great, although I accept you weren't sharing in the profits."

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk 08/05/2014