“We’ve found more than 100 Vietnamese cannabis factories across the force area in the last three years and in the majority of cases we find an Asian male living in the property gardening the crops.”
Drug trafficking gangs are forcing Vietnamese immigrants to work on illegal cannabis farms in Yeovil, the Western Gazette can reveal.
Police have said nearly a dozen Vietnamese immigrants have been found running cannabis factories in the town since 2011.
But while some are genuine criminal offenders, police have revealed others are “victims” being forced to live and work in drug-filled properties under the threat of violence against themselves and their families in South East Asia by gangs.
The revelations follow a raid carried out in Boundary Close this month where a cannabis farm worth more than £250,000 was unearthed.
Sergeant Rich Barnett, of Yeovil police, said the farm was cultivated and harvested by a Vietnamese immigrant who had been trafficked into the UK.
He said: “It’s a national problem that forces are having to deal with. We are finding some Vietnamese victims who have been brought into this country against their will and are being forced to work in cannabis factories.
[…]
