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Drug gangs turn to hydroponics
Paula Doneman, crime editor | The Courier-Mail | 23jan06

VIETNAMESE crime groups have emerged as one of the nation's major suppliers of hydroponically grown marijuana.

Police sources said the Australian-based groups' move into hydroponics was a shift from their long-standing involvement in the heroin trade.

Hydroponics is now the biggest form of cannabis production in Queensland and growers are developing increasingly sophisticated methods.

Drug Squad Detective Inspector Gordon Thompson said crops had been found mostly in suburban houses and to a lesser extent, on small farms.

Drug growers were renting private homes from unsuspecting landlords and converting them to cannabis hothouses, he said.

Hothouses operate around the clock with some plants able to yield more than 10kg of cannabis each.

"Hydro crops are less labour intensive, less likely to be discovered or stolen. (Unlike outdoor crops) they are less likely to get eaten by bugs, cattle and kangaroos ," he said.

Reduced labor costs, higher quality and a faster production rate meant the demand for hydroponically grown cannabis had increased.

Insp Thompson said Queensland police had seized millions of dollars of suspected proceeds of crime from hydroponic growers. Among assets seized were homes, vehicles, huge amounts of cash and jewellery. "I am unable to put a dollar value on the worth of the industry except to say that cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in Queensland and the industry is worth millions of tax-free dollars to the growers and distributors," he said.

Last year Queensland police uncovered a sophisticated network of hydroponic nurseries used to grow more than $1.5 million worth of cannabis in four houses in Brisbane's southwest.

Insp Thompson said several Vietnamese suspects, some of whom were illegal immigrants, were charged with several drug offences.

New South Wales Detective Superintendent Ken McKay said the emergence of Vietnamese crime groups in the drug trade had also occurred in Canada.

He said there were indications some of the Australian-based groups in NSW had sent members to Canada to learn to about advanced techniques and technology.

"Anecdotally, some of the Vietnamese criminals have been to Canada to learn about the different types of plants and how to best maximise production levels," he said.

Detective Superintendent Deborah Wallace, commander of the NSW South-East Asian Crime Squad, said Canadian authorities had deported several Australians after raids on hydroponic crops. Supt Wallace said police first noticed the involvement of Vietnamese groups, many based on social or family involvement in NSW crops in 2003.

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killer12382

10 kg per plant is bull$hit. This article was written by a fool.

killer12382

""Hydro crops are less labour intensive"

Now I know this article is written by an idiot. You got to watch your nutrient levels as well as the ph levels. If any of them get out of whack your crop can die quickly. You got to maintain the light levels to so the plants get enough light yet you don't want to burn the plants either. Humidity and excess heat need to be taken care or your plants will suffer. The room has to be vented to bring in clean air for the plants to breath. Some growers actually add CO2 to increase the growth rate of plants. When you vent the grow room you have to mask the odor of your grow op.
Growing outdoors is much more relaxed.

Buzzby

There's a difference between being ignorant and being a fool, although some people can be both. It would be easy for someone not involved in cannabis to believe that a single plant could produce 10 kg of weed if it was told to them by someone who ought to know.

I'd love to see a plant that could produce 10 kg of pot! I wonder if we could teach King Kong to roll joints?

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