Cannabis farmer could be deported after being caught in Linthorpe drug farm worth £122k a year

A cannabis farmer could be deported after he was caught in a drug farm worth £122,000 per year.

Son Hoang refused to answer the door when police came to a home on Eton Road, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough.

He escaped from the house by jumping from a back window injuring his ankle at 2pm on July 10 last year.

He was arrested with a set of keys to the property, where officers found three areas for growing cannabis.

Almost 300 plants were discovered - 102 small plants, 75 medium and 95 larger plants - in a “typical cannabis set-up”, said prosecutor David Crook.

He told Teesside Crown Court: “The house was capable of producing around £122,000 worth of drugs per annum.”

Hoang, 37, told police he came to the UK from Vietnam on a truck a year ago and had been in the house for a month. He refused to give further information.

Mr Crook said it was unlikely Hoang had been trafficked, but inquiries into this had not been completed.

Hoang admitted production of the Class B drug, his first conviction.

Andrew White, defending, said Hoang’s wife left him in 2011 and he came to this country for a new start.

Hoang owed money to the people who brought him here and he was put to work in the cannabis farm to repay it.

“He had no hand in setting it up. He wouldn’t know how,” said Mr White.

“He wasn’t getting any money. There was a mattress on the floor.”

Judge Les Spittle told Hoang: “You had a lesser role. You were the gardener and you did that to pay off a debt to others who are more deeply involved in this business.

“There are those who are higher up the chain who I would like in front of me. They would get a much higher sentence.”

He jailed Hoang for eight months, saying he might be released from prison soon given the time he had already served on remand.

He added: “I make no recommendation with regard to deportation. It appears that the process has not been completed.

“The UK Border Agency in conjunction with the Home Office may very well take steps to have you deported if it be correct that you are an illegal immigrant.”

If you see drugs activity in your area, call the Cleveland Community Drug Enforcement Team on 0800 0929702 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.