THE PSNI has seized cannabis valued at £8.4 million (€10.59 million) and charged 45 people in an operation against what it believes are Chinese criminal gangs operating cannabis factories in Northern Ireland.
The crackdown has been running since late last year, and 11 of those charged are from South East Asia, the police said. During the operation 55 properties were seized, 56 people were arrested and 45 charged, most of whom remain in custody, the PSNI said.
Police recovered 14,500 cannabis plants valued at £7.3 million and 113kg of herbal cannabis, with a street value of £1.1 million. They also recovered £120,000 in cash.
Many of the factories are private homes with cannabis plants growing throughout. Police have asked landlords to be particularly alert for anything suspicious such as blacked-out windows, pungent, unusual smells or unusual activity.
Chinese gangs from Britain are thought to be behind the cannabis production. “Organised crime gangs have turned their attention from mainland UK to Northern Ireland, presumably because they thought they wouldn’t get caught. They were wrong,” said Det Insp Peter Moore of the PSNI drug squad. “We believe the cannabis is being cultivated here for distribution and sale outside Northern Ireland. Our investigations are continuing with a number of other agencies to determine the scale and extent of the network,” he said.
“Organised crime gangs are exploiting people from South East Asia in the cultivation process. Police believe those involved in this illegal activity are not ‘local’ Chinese people but individuals from outside Northern Ireland,” said Det Insp Moore.
“Police have met with representatives of the ‘local’ Chinese community and they are as outraged as all other right-thinking members of our society. They should not be stigmatised or victimised because of the actions of outsiders.”
Det Insp Moore warned that these factories were a fire hazard. “There is a significant threat of fire with cannabis factories,” he said. “A house full of electric fans and heaters, combined with water, is an obvious fire risk. People who run cannabis factories have been found to tamper with electricity supplies in a very amateurish fashion. Put these ingredients together and you have a recipe for disaster, a great potential for destruction of property, serious injury, even death.”