Police raids take place across Glasgow - Here's why
Detective Inspector Chris Hughes said: 'This is a multi-division crime group who are using victims of human trafficking to grow their organisation and we are seeing cultivations throughout the divisions. They vary in size and are very professional in there set up. The biggest thing we are seeing is people being exploited within those cultivations.
'We want to make sure that serious organised crime isn't allowed to flourish in Scotland."
(Image: Images taken by Robert Perry, Newsquest)
(Image: Images taken by Robert Perry, Newsquest)
(Image: Images taken by Robert Perry, Newsquest) Three people were arrested after several properties were raided in the city this morning in relation to suspected illegal activity.
The arrests were made as part of Police Scotland's Operation Kendrew, which is a multi-division effort in collaboration with the G, D, and J Divisions as well as the National Human Trafficking Unit (NHTU).
The Glasgow Times accompanied cops to one of the properties in the East End where officers broke down the door with a baton ram before entering the property.
As soon as the door was opened, a strong smell of cannabis filled the air.
One man was arrested at the address, and a large number of cannabis plants were found.
More arrests were made across the other two properties where cannabis cultivations were also found.
The values of the discoveries are unknown at this stage.
(Image: Detective Sergeant Chris Hughes. Images taken by Robert Perry, Newsquest) (Image: Detective Sergeant Chris Hughes. Images taken by Robert Perry, Newsquest)
(Image: Images taken by Robert Perry, Newsquest) (Image: Images taken by Robert Perry, Newsquest) (Image: Images taken by Robert Perry, Newsquest) (Image: Images taken by Robert Perry, Newsquest) Detective Inspector Hughes said the operation was successful.
He added: 'Today was a concerted effort to tackle human trafficking in Scotland.
'This is a long-running investigation and we're ultimately looking to target the upper echelon of that group and dismantle their operations in Scotland.'
He continued: 'The NHTU are heavily involved in targeting the groups that work in Scotland.
'We are completely reliant on support from our partners, the public and divisional resources to do that. Today is an example of how all those partners and divisions work together.'
The victims within the operation will be assisted by victim navigators, who work with the charity Justice and Care.
(Image: Images taken by Robert Perry, Newsquest) A victim navigator who was on hand today said: 'Today has been a police-led operation following intelligence. It has gone very smoothly.
'I believe we have potentially identified two individuals who we will speak to later on and see if we can support them.'
Detailing their role further, they added: 'Our role is to support identified victims of modern slavery and human trafficking throughout their journey from the initial stages right through.
'We help them both emotionally and practically through the judicial process, meeting their basic need for food or clothes, we can arrange counselling for them or simply take them for a coffee and build up their confidence after such a traumatic incident.'
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