A man has admitted being the “gardener” of a huge cannabis farm that was found inside a former West Cumbria care home.
Police executed a drugs warrant at a building in Bookwell, Egremont, on October 12 last year. Officers seized more than 1,600 suspected cannabis plants, the total yield of which could potentially have been worth many hundreds of thousands of pounds.
A Vietnamese national, Hung Xuan Tran, was arrested, charged and initially denied a charge alleging production of the class B substance and was due to stand trial later this year.
But when he appeared at Carlisle Crown Court this morning, the 29-year-old’s barrister asked for the charge to be put again. Speaking with the assistance of an interpreter, Tran pleaded guilty to the charge while appearing remotely over a video link from custody.
His admission was on the basis that he acted as a “gardener” of the cannabis farm.
There was no issue taken by the prosecution to the basis outlined by his barrister.
Judge Richard Archer adjourned the case but decided against ordering a probation service pre-sentence report for two reasons; he questioned what rehabilitative work could be done with the defendant given that he spoke no English; and noted his immigration status remained uncertain with an application seeking asylum in the pipeline.
Tran, of no fixed abode, will be sentenced by a judge on a date to be fixed and, in the meantime, was remanded in custody.
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