'Hungry and homeless' immigrant tended to £58,000 Pudsey-house cannabis grow to fund dad's cancer treatment

Truong Nguyen was arrested after police raided the property on Bradford Road on September 29 last year. Inside the house they found two rooms filled with a total of 216 plants, along with the usual set up of lights, transformers and fans. The electricity had also been bypassed, Leeds Crown Court heard this week.

Experts believed the plants were capable of producing around £58,000 worth of cannabis. Nguyen, 23, gave no comments during his interview. A second man was also arrested at the scene but no charges were brought against him.

Appearing in court via video link from HMP Nottingham, Nguyen admitted producing cannabis.

Mitigating on his behalf, Matthew Stewart said unemployed Nguyen had come to the UK to find work, having incurred medical bills in his home country for his father's treatment for stomach cancer. 

Nguyen flew to Ukraine and then hid on the back of lorry through several European countries before reaching the UK. Mr Stewart said he was homeless when he arrived with no food or money and stayed temporarily with other Vietnamese nationals, before being offered the chance to to stay at the house on Bradford Road.

Mr Stewart said: "He was given the keys to the address, but told to carry out the growing of the cannabis. He says he was subject to violence on one occasion at that address, and had to ask permission to leave that address but realises it's not a defence.

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“He was desperate, homeless and hungry, that's why he went there. His role was a gardener, it was clearly not his own operation. He had no influence on the chain above. His vulnerabilities were exploited. He wishes to express his remorse and apologises to the court. He regrets his actions."

He said there was no evidence of exploitation of the other Vietnamese national found at the property. Nguyen said he met him at the market and he was homeless and hungry so allowed him to stay at the property to have a wash and have something to eat. He said he expects Nyugen to be deported after serving his sentence. 

Judge Ray Singh deferred sentencing until May 29, saying he required a basis of plea from the defendant, suggesting it could make a material difference to his sentence length. He was remanded back into custody.