An illegal immigrant who racked up £170,000 in debt entering the UK then became a cannabis farmer has been jailed.
Tam Nguyen was busted tending to the £140,000 drugs den just a year after he was jailed for committing the same crime.
The 38-year-old confessed to his offending, claiming he was “lured” into the job as he desperately needed to clear a huge debt owed to an “unspecified” lender.
They lender had helped him illegally enter the UK, BirminghamLive reports.
Police only stumbled upon the cannabis factory “by chance” after a blaze at the property where it was hidden.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how firefighters were called out to the property in Darlaston Road, Wednesbury, West Mids, at 5.40pm in May.
Smoke had been spotted coming from the area after a metal shed at the back of the house ignited. Police then arrived at the scene and knocked on the front door, with Nguyen eventually opening it.
The defendant walked away from officers as he made a phone call before returning and passing the mobile over to them. A woman on the phone told officers Nguyen, who could not speak English, had been staying at the property.
Officers detained Nguyen and then had to step in when he tried to hit his head on the ground. An investigation later found there was a cannabis production set-up in the loft, with 140 plants about 6ft tall seized.
There was a “hydroponic” system for the plants, with electricity bypassed, while £350 cash was also uncovered. Nguyen acted as a “gardener” and was expecting to be paid, prosecutor Mr Tiwana said.
The defendant told police in interview that he had previously held a job in construction but lost it after he was arrested for an earlier offence of producing cannabis. He was then offered another job tending to cannabis plants in the West Midlands.
Officers were told he took the job to pay off a £170,000 debt owed to those who helped him travel to the UK. Mr Ahmed, defending, said Nguyen had been in the country since May 2021 after entering the UK illegally.
The convict was “lured” into his latest offending and was “vulnerable” due to the huge debt he owed. Mr Ahmed added: “He is very remorseful of his actions. He regrets his behaviour.”
Nguyen, of no fixed, abode, was previously jailed for 39 weeks at Ipswich Crown Court for producing cannabis. He was released from prison last September, the court heard on August 18.
Sentencing, Recorder Warner said: “Almost exactly a year before this, you were doing the same thing in another part of the country. It was a relatively sophisticated set-up.”
Nguyen – who was assisted by a Vietnamese interpreter in court – admitted producing cannabis between January 1 and May 4 and was jailed for 18 months. The value of the drugs was not mentioned in court but each mature cannabis plant is thought to have an estimated street value of £1,000.
