Illegal immigrant jailed over £675,000 Telford cannabis haul
An illegal immigrant has been jailed for 20 months for his part in producing cannabis worth £675,000 at a building in Telford.
Hoa Nguyen, who is from Vietnam, admitted producing a controlled class B drug and was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday.
The 33-year-old had to use an interpreter for the hearing, which heard he had been found in The Old Granville, Donnington Wood, Telford, with 1,500 cannabis plants which had an estimated value of £675,000.
Judge Simon Tonking sentenced Nguyen to 20 months in prison, telling him it was the lowest sentence he could impose.
Mr Robert Edwards, prosecuting, said Nguyen was arrested as part of a joint operation between West Mercia and West Midlands Police in February.
He said: "On February 26 officers executed a search warrant at The Old Granville, Donnington Wood, Telford.
"The building was formerly used for agriculture but had been leased by the landlord to an Asian male in January.
"It's an isolated building situated along a disused road. The building is surrounded by substantial iron fencing with front gates. Officers noticed that the premises were secured by locked doors and roller shutters,and the exterior was monitored by CCTV.
"Once officers entered they found a substantial cannabis growing environment. Mr Nguyen was the only person within at the time and was arrested.
"A detailed search of the interior of the building found it had been split into 11 partitions with a central corridor. Seven rooms contained cannabis plants, each of them reaching maturity, with one room containing less mature plants, seemingly a nursery area."
Mr Edwards said Nguyen had left Vietnam when he was 29, working through different countries before paying 3,000 euros to agents who arranged for him to enter the UK illegally on the back of a lorry.
"Once in the UK he was taken to the building, where he said there were two other men working there," Mr Edwards said.
"His job was to water and spray the plants and to assist with the erection of the partitions. He was unaware that the plants were cannabis or were illegal - he believed they were medicinal."
Mr Daniel Wright, for Nguyen, said: "He now accepts that it was an illegal enterprise. He wishes to go home to his family as soon as possible. He has a seven-year-old daughter who he has learned is ill and he has elderly parents.
"He has asked me to apologise to the court for his part in this enterprise and says he will not do anything like this again."
