Six people convicted of modern slavery

Six people who exploited Vietnamese workers who had been smuggled into the UK for forced labour on cannabis farms have been convicted (Monday 24 February).

Mai Van Nguyen, 35, Duong Dinh, 38, Nghĩa Dinh Tran, 30,  Shamraiz Akhtar, 54, Tasawar Hussain, 54, and Amjad Nawaz, 43, were found guilty of conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of people with a view to forcing them to work in exploitative conditions on cannabis farms and of a conspiracy to produce cannabis between 1 June 2020 and 18 August 2022 at Birmingham Crown Court.

A long and detailed investigation by the National Crime Agency supported by the Crown Prosecution Service discovered that the defendants arranged for victims, people who had been smuggled illegally into the UK,  to be trafficked around the UK to work in cannabis farms.  The defendants conspired together to move the victims, equipment, and cannabis around the UK.  The victims were held in conditions of modern slavery where their movements were controlled.  The Prosecution case showed that all of the defendants were involved in conspiracy to produce cannabis on a large scale.

Lauren Doshi of the Crown Prosecution Service said:  “These defendants make use of vulnerable people who are driven by poverty to seek to work illegally in the UK.  They were forced to involve themselves in the production of cannabis in order to repay debts incurred in Vietnam as well as the cost of their travel to the UK. They were forced to live in squalid conditions with threats made to their lives and those of their families should they fail to comply with the conspirators demands.”

“The CPS is continuing to work with law enforcement partners to discourage, disrupt and dismantle this exploitative trade through prosecutions and cross-border collaboration.”