Vietnamese national caught working at Newcastle cannabis farm for 2nd time jailed and faces deportation

Video footage shows the moment police raided a property in Newcastle in July and found five rooms containing a total of 323 cannabis plants at various stages of growth. Growing tents, lighting and ventilation equipment can be seen on the Northumbria Police video, along with dozens of plants packed into the rooms.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Ky Lee was found in an upstairs room but fled the property and ran into some nearby woods, where he was caught. The 44-year-old, of no fixed address, admitted production of cannabis.

Prosecutor Stuart Graham said Lee has a conviction for a similar cannabis offence in March 2022. Gurjot Kaur, defending, told the court Lee, a married dad of five, was paid £500 per harvest for working at the farm and was in debt in Vietnam, with responsibilities for his family who still live there.

Miss Kaur added: "He was responsible for preparing the cannabis for forward use. He has a desire to return to Vietnam and responsibilities for his family who are still there. His parents are elderly and he has a wife and five children there. He no longer wishes to offend in this country."

Mr Recorder Jonathan Sandiford KC sentenced Kaur to two years being bars and said he faces deportation from the UK. The recorder said: "It was a big cannabis farm, making use of five rooms as growing areas with different rooms containing different stages of cannabis cultivation."