Thin Trieu Nguyen, 37, has now been jailed for four years after plants worth £100,000 were found in a house in Coatbridge.
Nguyen was sentenced at Airdrie Sheriff Court(Image: Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser)
A cannabis gardener returned to the UK after being deported and was again caught working for a criminal gang.
Thin Trieu Nguyen, 37, has now been jailed for four years after plants worth £100,000 were found in a house in Coatbridge.
Airdrie Sheriff Court heard he’d previously served a four-year sentence for his role in a similar cannabis operation in Wales.
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Nguyen admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class B drug in Mossneuk Street between March 4 and 6 this year.
Police forced entry to the house after a smell of cannabis was detected in the street. Nguyen was found inside.
Annette Ward, prosecuting, said: “Two upstairs bedrooms had been converted into growing rooms and a spare room was being used to store equipment.
“There were also cannabis plants in the loft.
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“In total 167 well-maintained and healthy plants were recovered.
“The accused told police he had been brought to the house the day before by a group of males he described as Westerners.
“He said he was instructed to water and look after the plants.”
Defence lawyer Roberto Manini described the case as “borderline in terms of human trafficking”.
Mr Manini stated: “He says that, after serving the first sentence, he returned to Vietnam, got married and had two children.
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“He describes a difficult existence and it appears he returned to Europe to try to support his family.
“He came to Britain four years ago and worked in catering.
“However, he was having to pay back his transportation fee which was substantial.
“He was asked to take part in this enterprise. How much free will people with substantial debt have I’m not entirely sure.”
Passing sentence, Sheriff Paul Haran told Nguyen he would have been jailed for six years but for his guilty plea.
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