Swindon drugs raids: £1m of cannabis seized by police

Wiltshire Police said factories on this scale can produce more than £4m of cannabis each year

Cannabis plants with a value of more than £1m have been seized during raids across Swindon.

Six victims of human trafficking, all men aged between 19 and 28, were taken into care by Wiltshire Police.

Eight cannabis factories were discovered in residential properties between Thursday and Sunday.

Two men, aged 21 and 22, from London, were arrested on suspicion of cannabis production and human trafficking offenses.

They have been released on conditional bail.

The operation was carried out by the Wiltshire Police Operation Fortitude team, introduced in 2020 to tackle serious offenders across Wiltshire.

'Prey on the vulnerable'

Det Insp Angela Shipp said that factories on this scale can produce more than £4m of cannabis each year.

"In most of these addresses each room had been converted for the wholesale production of cannabis plants," she said.

"Men had been trafficked and were being kept in the properties to look after the plants; these victims were rescued and are assisting in this investigation."

She added that human trafficking for cannabis production is "often seen as a hidden crime", but that this operation showed it occurs "within our communities in plain sight".

"The extent of the impact on vulnerable victims and to the wider local community is appalling," she said.

"My message is clear, for those that commit these offences of human trafficking, by preying on vulnerable individuals, and setting up cannabis factories, if you come to Wiltshire to do this, we will find and dismantle these factories and bring you to justice."