[A] JURY has heard how a 380-plant cannabis factory was found at a house in South Cumbria.
Carlisle Crown Court was told how police swooped on the Victorian property at Church Hill, Arnside, at around midday on February 6. This came amid concerns from the “community at large” about the address.
After the door was opened by Vietnamese national Thuy Nguyen, officers found rooms “absolutely stuffed with cannabis plants”, and specialist hydroponic equipment.
A total of 380 plants were located in the first floor and attic areas – 150 being found in one room alone.
Nguyen, 47, was arrested on the doorstep by a PC who immediately detected the “noticeable pungent smell” which she knew to be cannabis.
Nguyen, of no fixed address, has pleaded not guilty to an allegation that she was involved in producing the class B drug at that address.
Opening the case at the crown court today (WED), prosecutor Alistair Reid told jurors: “She denied that she had any knowledge of the cannabis that was filling the first floor of this address, and that she didn’t know there was cannabis in the property.
“She believed that the plants that were there were tobacco plants.”
The trial continues.
