M
Mitsuhide Akechi
Guest
Chinese Gang Members Jailed For Farm Murder
10:31pm Friday October 1, 2010
Gerard Tubb, North of England correspondent
Four members of a Chinese gang have been jailed over the brutal murder of another gang member at a cannabis farm in Yorkshire.
Chen Xia Hua, Huang Bao Lung, Wang Shaozhe and Zhang Zhouli were jailed
Victim Chen Cai Guan and three of those convicted were illegal immigrants who are believed to have fallen out over profits from their drug factory. It is thought to be Britain's first murder linked to commercial cannabis production, which is one of the country’s fastest-growing crimes.
Superintendent Karnail Dulku, of North Yorkshire police, warned that violence among gang members could spiral out of control if it was left unchecked.
"We wanted to prevent an escalation of this type of criminal vendetta homicide which, if left unchallenged, may have spread into our communities," he said.
Chen's badly-beaten body was found floating in a canal near Selby in March 2009, and was identified after a family friend saw an appeal for information on Sky News. Detectives discovered he had been murdered while working at a cannabis farm at Elvington, near York, which had been closed down by the police in February.
The gang had killed Chen in the modified industrial unit and dumped his body the previous month, covering their tracks by scrubbing walls and painting over blood stains. The murder investigation, which involved six police forces, is thought to be the most intensive study into cannabis production to date, with officers travelling to China and making 22 arrests across the UK.
The victim's body was found in a canal near Selby
It culminated in a six-week trial at Leeds Crown Court, which has until now been the subject of reporting restrictions. Two men arrested during the raid in February at Elvington, Chen Xia Hua and Wang Shaozhe, were found guilty of perverting the course of justice over the murder. Fellow gang members Huang Bao Lung and Zhang Zhouli, who were tracked down later, were convicted of murder and sentenced to life.
The Association of Chief Police Officerspublished a report in July which said cannabis producers were exploiting illegal immigrants by forcing them to work in order to pay off debts. Superintendent Dulku points out that the two of the men convicted in this case told police they were treated as slaves, but they were lying.
He believes his investigation sheds new light on the methods used by organised criminal gangs. "Everyone who is involved in these cultivations claims to be kept there against their will," he said. "I don't believe that's the case at all. The workers in this instance paid sums of money to a go-between to be introduced to the main investor."
