Addicts Found Working as Slaves on Pot Plantation

Twenty people—most of them addicts and alcoholics—have been found working as slaves on a cannabis plantation in far eastern Russia. The plantation was ruled over by a "paramilitary unit," and raiding cops found a large stash of weaponry, as well as night-vision goggles, binoculars and radios, according to Russian media. The drug-dealing overseers brought local addicts to the plantation and subjected them to beatings if they refused to work. They also prevented them from contacting relatives in the outside world. Police also discovered 80 sacks of dried marijuana, weighing 880 pounds, which they say had been harvested for local buyers in Primorye province. Five alleged overseers have been arrested, along with the operation's suspected organizer; aged between 27 and 35, they all have previous convictions including theft, robbery, armed robbery and drug offenses.