20 held in cannabis factory raids

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So far 20 people have been arrested by police who raided 20 homes and nail bars in Southampton, Portsmouth and Fareham in Hants, Bournemouth and Swanage in Dorset and London in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Detective Inspector Dave Powell, from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said the raids were the culmination of Operation Elmer, an 18-month investigation led by Hampshire Police into an organised Vietnamese crime syndicate.

The operation has focused on Vietnamese nationals suspected of being involved in the organisation and management of cannabis factories in Hampshire, London, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Sussex.

Wednesday morning's raids targeted those suspected of being involved in a conspiracy to run a network of cannabis factories across the south of England.

Hampshire Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), based in Southampton, were joined by teams of officers from the Major Crime Department, Dog Support Unit, specialist house entry teams from the Metropolitan Police Service, Immigration, and officers from the local areas to carry out the raids.

Police were to question the 20 people arrested, whose ages range from mid-fifties to a 14-year-old girl, in police stations across Hampshire on Wednesday.

"It's a real family and friends operation," said Mr Powell.

"These people set up their cannabis factories, make vast amounts of money and either launder that money into property or through nail bars and use the nail bars as a front."

A cannabis factory was discovered in Porchester, Hants, during the raids. Hydroponics equipment was seized and four illegal immigrants were detained.