BATTERING rams and saws were ploughed through the doors of 19 Glasgow properties amid a major police operation to curb the activities of a suspected human trafficking and drug gang.
Around 300 officers were deployed across Scotland on Wednesday, in the police force's "biggest and most co-ordinated” operation in history which has so far seen 36 people arrested.
As part of Operation Kendrew, 47 properties across the central belt and south east of the country were raided in an effort to disrupt the activities of the gang, who are believed to be primarily of Vietnamese origin.
As dawn broke in Glasgow and the operations began, plain clothes officers forced their way through the door of a suspected cannabis farm in a cottage flat in Springburn.
Some time later, three men were then escorted from the property under arrest whilst forensic officers carried evidence bags holding the alleged cannabis seizure.
On the other side of the city, more kitted out officers wielding saws cut through the shutters of a nail supply warehouse unit just past 8am.
No arrests were carried out at this location, but it is thought to be connected to the ongoing activity of the gang.
Another 17 properties in Glasgow were raided after more than 35 warrants were issued for the day of action.
A total of 14 cannabis cultivations are alleged to have been seized during the operation.
The large-scale policing operation is targeting a group mainly run by people from Vietnam, with some members from other south-east Asian countries.
Crimes the gang is under investigation for include human trafficking, drug cultivation, fraud, forced labour, immigration crime, and money laundering.
Detective Superintendent Stevie Bertram, head of Police Scotland’s national human trafficking unit, said officers believe Operation Kendrew will “absolutely” disrupt the group’s activities going forward.
He said: “This enforcement action is the biggest and most co-ordinated human trafficking operation that we have ever carried out, and is a result of a lengthy investigation, working closely with our partners.
“We took a co-ordinated approach, and the arrests and seizures are a result of this work.
“Human trafficking is the illegal trade in human beings for the purpose of commercial exploitation, and it has no place in Scotland.
“It exists in many of our communities and involves people who are resident legally in the country.
“The industry of trafficking people has become so sophisticated that it often goes unnoticed.
“We will target criminals who abuse, control, and exploit people, working with partners nationally and internationally to bring offenders to justice and to raise public awareness to help identify victims and ensure they get the support they need.”
By Wednesday, it was announced that around 36 people had been arrested in connection with the dawn raids.
As part of the investigation, Police Scotland say they have partnered with the National Crime Agency, the Home Office, Immigration Enforcement, HMRC and Vietnamese and other south-east Asian policing forces.
Bertram said it is an “ongoing, large-scale investigation”, and he urged anyone who might have information or suspicions relating to human trafficking to contact police.
“I think the Scottish public are much better now at spotting the signs of human trafficking and are more likely to phone,” the detective said.
“The ask is to continue to do that.”
He said if anybody has any suspicions at all, they should contact the police “as a matter of urgency."
Also involved was Justice & Care who deployed two Victim Navigators, based in Scotland, to assist in Operation Kendrew.
The Victim Navigator programme provides independent, specialist support. As a result of their training and professional expertise, the navigators provide trauma informed support at the point of rescue and beyond, recognising that every victim has lived through a different experience.
Debi Lloyd, head of counter-trafficking at justice & care, added: ''Trauma-informed support is ultimately about recognising the person before the process. When somebody begins to trust again, to make their own choices and believe that people will do what they say they will do, that can be incredibly powerful.''
