Cannabis farm warning

Since we issued cannabis farm warnings in enews back in January  & April 2025, more SAL members have been in touch about properties that have been used as cannabis farms. Police Scotland have recently arrested 36 individuals in raids on Vietnamese crime gangs linked to human trafficking and cannabis farming. In total, police searched or checked 47 addresses in Aberdeen, Dundee, Falkirk, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Midlothian and the Scottish Borders, including some managed by SAL members. A news article about the police operation can be read here.

SAL has been in touch with Police Scotland about this and is assisting them with their investigations. As a result of our work on this we can share some “red flag” warning signs to look out for at the tenant referencing stage:

1. Passports with the place of birth stated as a country e.g. Scotland rather than a city/town
2. Passports with an incorrect number of digits in the passport number (it should be 9 digits long)
3. Passports with the holder’s signature printed in block capitals rather than the usual freehand style
4. References from landlords whose home address appears to be a much lower value property than their rental property
5. Employment references from a personal email address/mobile phone number rather than from official company communication channels
6. The applicant moving a considerable distance from their previous address in the UK
7. Applicants seeking out houses or top floor flats away from close neighbours
8. Applicants who state that they intend to live alone requiring a property with multiple bedrooms
9. Applicants who attend the viewing accompanied by a third party
10. Applicants specifically looking to view unfurnished properties
11. Applicants arriving at the viewing on foot in areas where this is unusual (no car registration can then be linked)
12. The applicant unable to collect the keys for the property and sending a third party to collect them

In most of the recent cases we are aware of, the applicants have been of east Asian descent but with apparently forged UK passports. Police Scotland have advised that Vietnamese gangs appear to be setting up and running the cannabis farms using workers brought to the country illegally through human trafficking.

SAL recommends never allowing a tenant to sign a tenancy agreement unless you have met them face to face to verify their identity via official sources of photographic ID like passports/driving licences. Further guidance on how to reduce the risk of your property being targeted, and how to spot properties being used as cannabis farms, can be found in Police Scotland’s guidance booklet Weed Them Out.