SIX Vietnamese workers who ran a cannabis farm from a house in Nelson have been jailed.
The group also ran houses in Bolton and West Yorkshire in a £1million network.
The four men and two women were jailed yesterday after pleading guilty to conspiracy to produce the class C drugs.
advertisement
Five of the defendants had come to the UK from Vietnam illegally, and the judge recommended they be deported after serving half of their sentences.
Officers carried out the raids on houses in Nelson, Bolton and West Yorkshire in November and seized 1,400 cannabis plants, along with growing equipment and a "substantial" amount of money, Bolton Crown Court heard. The electricity supply to the properties had been diverted so it would not register on the meter, with the cost to utility companies estimated at £400,000.
Police said the plants would have had an estimated street value of £1m.
Organiser Viet Anh Nguyen, 21, was jailed for four years and Tai Lam, 33, was sentenced to 18 months.
Tu Van Nguyen, 36, Son Thai Nguyen, 38, Ly Hug Tran, 26, and Huong Thi Nguyen, 23, were all given 12-month sentences.
All apart from one of the women, Huong Thi Nguyen, are illegal immigrants. They had all lived at a house in Weaver Chase in Bolton.
Detective Chief Inspector George Fawcett, of the drug unit based at Bolton, said: "We have successfully disrupted organised crime and have seized thousands of plants and tens of thousands of pounds worth of equipment.
"Just because these particular cases have concluded today, it does not mean the end of the matter. We will continue to crackdown on people involved in the cultivation of cannabis."
Posted by: Resident, Nelson on 4:43pm Sat 10 May 08
The raid on my street was great work from the police force. I had seen these folks who lived here and did not think of anything suspicious! Until I walked past when the police were destroying the plants the smell of weed was everywhere! Idiots at least they are going to go back home hopefully!
The raid on my street was great work from the police force. I had seen these folks who lived here and did not think of anything suspicious! Until I walked past when the police were destroying the plants the smell of weed was everywhere! Idiots at least they are going to go back home hopefully!
They will no doubt claim that they fear for their safety in their homeland so when it comes to booting them back to where they came from after their sentence they will probably be granted asylum due to our obligation under the human rights act
They will no doubt claim that they fear for their safety in their homeland so when it comes to booting them back to where they came from after their sentence they will probably be granted asylum due to our obligation under the human rights act
Posted by: Resident, Nelson on 10:31pm Sat 10 May 08
Yeah I feel the sentences are a joke aswell but they should be getting deported. There are alot of elderly residents on my street and they were disugsted and shocked to hear that this filth was going on under their noses. Not only did it waste alot of the police teams time but also alot of our tax payers money. Idiots should have gone out there and got jobs and made some proper money! Then again they were here ilegally shame on them.
Yeah I feel the sentences are a joke aswell but they should be getting deported. There are alot of elderly residents on my street and they were disugsted and shocked to hear that this filth was going on under their noses. Not only did it waste alot of the police teams time but also alot of our tax payers money. Idiots should have gone out there and got jobs and made some proper money! Then again they were here ilegally shame on them.
Posted by: simon garner, blackburn on 5:29am Sun 11 May 08
[quote][bold]jack walkers lovechild[/bold] wrote:
MASSIVE SENTANCES..WHAT A JOKE...CRIME DOES PAY[/quote] the judge said they have to serve half their sentances whats that all about
jack walkers lovechild wrote:
MASSIVE SENTANCES..WHAT A JOKE...CRIME DOES PAY
the judge said they have to serve half their sentances whats that all about
Posted by: Burnley Taxpayer, Burnley on 11:31am Mon 12 May 08
It is time sentences meant what trhey say. If you sentence someone to 12 months then they should serve that. If you want them out in 6 months then sentence them to 6 months. The present system is just decieving the public.
It is time sentences meant what trhey say. If you sentence someone to 12 months then they should serve that. If you want them out in 6 months then sentence them to 6 months. The present system is just decieving the public.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
