Police Arrest 36 in Raids on Vietnamese Crime Gangs Across Scotland - BBC News
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Police Arrest 36 in Raids on Vietnamese Crime Gangs Linked to Human Trafficking
One of Scotland's biggest police operations has targeted a Vietnamese organised crime group linked to human trafficking and cannabis farms. About 300 officers took part in simultaneous early-morning raids, leading to the arrest of 36 people and the discovery of 14 cannabis-growing operations.
In total, police searched or checked 47 addresses across Aberdeen, Dundee, Falkirk, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Midlothian, and the Scottish Borders.
Police Scotland allege the gang is involved in "poly-criminality", including:
- Human trafficking
- Drug production
- Fraud
- Money laundering
- Organised immigration crime.
The force says the activities first came to light after Vietnamese criminals were connected to 150 cannabis farms discovered in Scotland last year. Around 120 people had been arrested - so-called "gardeners"- and drugs worth £26m seized.
Subsequent inquiries linked a single Vietnamese crime group to about a third of the farms, leading to Wednesday's raids.
Det Supt Stevie Bertram said: "This was by far the biggest human trafficking investigation that Police Scotland has ever run." "We wanted to disrupt and absolutely cripple that organisation."
He added: "We wanted to do it all in one day and I think it's been a huge success. Essentially, they won't be able to function."
All targets of the operation have been arrested, believed to be members of the crime group.
Bertram further stated: "We think the group runs across the UK and internationally. We've met with regional crime teams from up and down England and Wales and Ireland, to look at what's happening across the country."
Officers from the National Crime Agency based in Hanoi have been liaising with the authorities in Vietnam.
The addresses raided included:
- A tenement flat in Edinburgh's South Clerk Street, containing cannabis plants growing behind tarpaulin screens under bright lights.
- Two neighbouring flats in Dundee, where a cannabis operation had been extended into a shared loft.
The police will now investigate whether the individuals arrested are victims of human trafficking.
"Vietnamese nationals are still the highest nationality that we see being exploited in Scotland," said Bertram.