Jailed: Telford drug gang leader who controlled work force of cannabis 'gardeners'
A Vietnamese man who controlled a work force of illegal immigrants as "gardeners" to cultivate cannabis in towns across the country – including Telford – has been jailed.
Toi Van Le was a "valued and trusted" member of a team producing skunk cannabis on a commercial and industrial scale with a potential value of several million pounds.
Van Le, 51, was jailed for a total of 11 years and 10 months at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday.
Judge Peter Barrie said Van Le had played a leading role in a partnership with others in a nationwide conspiracy over a 10-year period.
"You were a key member of a management team and controlled a group of illegal Vietnamese immigrants," he said.
Van Le was told his exploitation of the illegal immigrants was an aggravating feature in the case.
The defendant had been involved in cannabis production at seven terraced houses in Telford, Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham and Burton-on-Trent, a disused leisure centre in Newport, South Wales, an empty bank in Grimsby and a former doctor's surgery in Cumbria, between January, 2006, and May this year.
Judge Barrie said Van Le's claim that he had been a cleaner, handyman and decorator was clearly untrue. He said
that any question of Van Le continuing to reside in the UK would be a matter for the Home Secretary to consider on a future date.
Earlier this month Van Le was convicted of nine charges of conspiring to produce cannabis following a 17 day trial.
Van Le, of Spout Way in Malinslee, Telford, who also had addresses in Birmingham and London, had previously admitted one conspiracy charge relating to a house in the Stoke-on-Trent area.
