Carlisle cannabis farmer with £250k crop was trafficked into the UK

Cuong Nguyen, 32, explained his involvement in the 'sophisticated' cannabis operation, by saying he was working to pay off a £40,000 debt he owed to the people smugglers who brought him into the country illegally.

Police found the defendant living in a small room in the house and his circumstances were said to be 'approaching modern slavery.'

Nguyen pleaded guilty to illegally producing the Class B drug.

Kim Whittlestone, prosecuting, said police raided the terraced house in Crummock Street, off Wigton Road, Carlisle, on Friday, February 17. The officers saw the defendant attempting to leave via the back door, though when challenged he surrendered.

Inside the property, the officers discovered a cannabis farm, complete with a nursery, three first-floor growing rooms and a further growing room in the attic.

“As one would expect in a case such as this,” said Miss Whittlestone, “specialist equipment was used to grow the cannabis. The prosecution say it was at a commercial level.”

In total, there were 312 cannabis plants. Some 165 of these were in the cannabis 'nursery'.

A police expert estimated that the entire crop had a potential street value of £247,800 had it been harvested and sold on the streets. When caught, the defendant had £80 in cash on him – money he claimed was the result of successful betting.

A man with no previous convictions, the defendant provided a “no comment” responses when he was quizzed by the police.

Anthony Parkinson, defending, said the defendant was a man of Vietnamese origin and he came to the UK in 2021. “His father died several years ago and his mother moved to live in China. He moved to the UK with a view to obtaining a better life.

“He agreed to discharge a debt of  £40,000 in return for him being brought into this country on the back of a lorry.

"He was put to work immediately in the north east, he believes, and a few days before he was arrested for these offences, he was transported to Cumbria and continued that work.”

The barrister said that once the defendant has served half his sentence he hoped to seek asylum in this country and find legitimate work.

“But he recognises that the future for him, and particularly the country in which he will be living, is uncertain.”

Recorder Kate Bex KC noted that the defendant’s living conditions were 'not good.'

There was no evidence that he lived a lavish lifestyle, nor any indication that he had performed any management function in the cannabis operation.

The judge noted that when the defendant was caught he initially attempted to leave before then putting his hands up and surrendering. She told Nguyen: "The [police] officers found a sophisticated and professionally run cannabis farm...

“You moved to the UK in 2021, being a victim of human trafficking and therefore had to discharge a debt of many thousands of pounds.

“Even though the threshold of a defence of modern slavery was not reached, it is clear that the last few years of your life have been lived in circumstances akin to human trafficking.

“You could not use the defence of 'modern slavery', but you were in circumstances approaching it.”

She jailed the defendant for 17 months. The defendant said he had a girlfriend and asked what would happen after he has served his sentence. The judge replied that any decision on his future in the UK was out of her control.