Cannabis farm boom fuelling rise of violence in Britain

Tuesday, 17 August 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/17/drugs-trade-drugs

Almost 7,000 plantations and factories of illegal cannabis were discovered in the past 12 months in Britain. According to the police, not only does the amount more than doubles the ones detected from 2007 to 2008, but this boom also brings about a current of violence. A report about this matter said that these businesses were still mostly run by Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants, but that more white British people than ever were also engaging into the trade. They are more and more arming themselves with machetes, shotguns and dangerous dogs to guard their factories from rivals trying to steal their merchandise.

I can imagine the concern about this. Not only are they dealing in illegal stuff, but they are now also armed to protect their crop from other gangs. This increases the potential of having a gunfight right in your street tremendously, because private homes are still the property of choice for those criminals to keep and cultivate their plants. We have the same problem in Holland. In fact I have experienced what it means to live in a neighbourhood where those criminals choose to put their trade. Luckily the gunfight was late at night when the children were already safe asleep.