Three jailed for roles in £1m cannabis factory

Three men have been jailed for maintaining a cannabis factory described by a judge as the "largest I've ever seen" in his judicial career.

Vietnamese nationals Cong van Dinh, Hoa-Xuan Lau and Tien Nguyen were all paid to work at the factory, which was based at a warehouse in Huddersfield.

Police found more than 1,500 plants at the site when it was raided on 27 August last year, which had a collective street value of nearly £1m.

At Leeds Crown Court on Thursday, van Dinh was jailed for 22 months, Lau for 27 months and Nguyen for 32 months after they earlier admitted production of a Class B drug.

Eleven rooms in the building were dedicated to cultivating the drug, the court heard.

The court was told that the three men had a "lesser role" in keeping the factory running and were working "on behalf of others".

It was said that a while the operation did not amount to "modern slavery", a guard was placed outside the premises while the trio worked.

Mitigating for Lau, John Batchelor said that the 34-year-old had a live asylum application which would be affected by his conviction.

"In hindsight, he would never have taken the route he decided to take for his family and he pays the price for that," Mr Batchelor added.

Representing 54-year-old Nguyen, Eleanor Mitten said the father-of-two had moved to the UK to pay off a debt he had accrued in Vietnam.

He had three previous convictions for drug-related offences.

Van Dinh, 49, was also said to have come to the UK from south-east Asia, although his personal circumstances were not explained.

All three men, who had no fixed abode, appeared for the sentencing hearing via video-link from custody.

Judge Christopher Batty said: "Each of you played an important role in a large-scale cannabis production operation.

"It is certainly the largest I've ever seen across my 16 years on the bench.

"It was a professional setup and the biggest indicator of its size is the fact it took three of you to run it on a day-to-day basis.

"But I do accept that each of you played a lesser role under direction from those who were making the money."

The court was told the Home Office did not intend to deport any of the defendants.

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