An illegal immigrant caught growing a £95,000 cannabis farm during a night of chaos in the Black Country has been locked up. Vietnamese national Tinh Nguyen was arrested by police after they rushed to an early-morning street brawl in Wolverhampton.
The fight broke out after a gang attempted to pinch hundreds of cannabis plants growing inside a house in Haden Hill. Chaos followed, with a car that drove off from the scene later crashing into traffic lights in Archer Way, Rowley Regis, just after 1.30am.
Another car which fled the scene was found on the M54, between Junctions 2 and 3. Traffic officers followed the VW Golf to Junction 7 of the M6 towards Scott Arms where they deflated its tyres after it was driven the wrong way along a dual carriageway.
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Nguyen - who acted as a so-called gardener - also tried to run from officers but the 26-year-old was soon stopped by an aggressive police dog. He claimed he was brought to the country by a criminal gang and is now desperate to return to Vietnam, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
Police were called to Haden Hill after the disorder broke out at about 1.20am on November 21 last year. A cannabis factory set up in a house in the street was in the process of being burgled, prosecutor Simon Birch said.
Nguyen attempted to flee but was chased by police and stopped by a 'rather aggressive police dog'. Mr Birch said: "Police attended and saw people running off in all directions, including driving off in cars."
Officers then stormed the property and found it loaded with drugs, the court heard on Wednesday (March 9). 'Piles' of harvested cannabis plants were uncovered, with all rooms in the property used to grow the drugs.
Officers discovered 333 plants packed into seven rooms, with 227 actually being grown - thought to have a value of between £25,000 and £95,000. Fans and lights to help grow the cannabis were also found, while the toilet system had been 'diverted' to water the plants.
In a prepared statement to police, Nguyen claimed he was forced to care for the plants by a criminal gang. Mr Birch said: "The defendant confirmed he was an illegal immigrant and had been brought to the UK in 2018 by a criminal gang. He had been encouraged under duress to attend to the cannabis plants."
Nguyen - who needed a Vietnamese interpreter in court - was under 'some duress' at the time, the court was told. He 'was not getting anything' out of the set-up and his 'movements were extremely limited'.
Nguyen - of Aston Lane, Perry Barr, Birmingham - was 'in fear' and now wants to go back to Vietnam. Sentencing, Judge Michael Chambers QC said the Wolverhampton house was raided by a 'rival gang'.
He said: "You were caught in Bradford acting as a cultivator of cannabis. You were released on bail but failed to attend court in Bradford and came to the West Midlands and were caught cultivating cannabis as a so-called gardener in those premises. This is a serious matter because cannabis is a dangerous drug. It also leads to other crimes being committed.
"You were responsible for cultivating some 333 plants, of which 227 were being grown. They were being grown under sophisticated equipment. This was a commercial operation."
Nguyen, who admitted producing a controlled drug of class B, was jailed for 12 months. The judge ordered forfeiture and destruction of the cannabis plants and drugs paraphernalia.
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