Illegal immigrant caught in house full of cannabis (From Swindon Advertiser)

Illegal immigrant caught in house full of cannabis

10:00am Wednesday 28th October 2009

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AN illegal immigrant caught in a Swindon cannabis factory where more than £80,000-worth of drugs was being grown yesterday had his three-year jail term cut by a third at the Court of Appeal in London.

Viet Hung Duong, 33, of Ashburnham Close, Freshbrook, was jailed at the town’s crown court in June after admitting being involved in the cultivation of cannabis.

But the Vietnamese man, who claimed he thought the plants were innocent house plants, appealed and yesterday had his sentence cut to two years by Lord Justice Goldring, Mr Justice Keith and Mr Justice Foskett.

Mr Justice Keith said Duong, who had entered the UK by hiding under a lorry, had to be sentenced on the basis of the part he played in the operation.

After being caught by immigration officers, but then absconding from the centre where he was being held, Duong was left homeless and penniless.

He was befriended by a man who invited him to work as a gardener at the factory, feeding, watering and tending to the substantial crop inside.

He claimed that it had taken him two weeks of staying at the property before he realised that the crop was more than just houseplants.

When police raided the house in April, they found almost 400 cannabis plants, with an estimated potential street value yield of more than £80,000.

A sophisticated hydroponics system had been set up, electricity meters bypassed and an intricate feeding and watering system installed. Duong was caught as he tried to run from the back door of the property.

He said he was paid only in food and lodging, but expected to ultimately receive a few hundred pounds with which to buy a flight back to Vietnam.

Reducing his sentence yesterday, Mr Justice Keith said the crown court judge was entitled to be sceptical about Duong’s claim that he did not at first realise he was looking after cannabis plants.

But he had to be sentenced for his admitted role.

“The sentence which the judge should have passed to give effect to his early plea of guilty was two years’ imprisonment,” he continued.

“We, therefore, allow this appeal, quash the sentence of three years’ imprisonment and substitute for it one of two years’ imprisonment.”

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