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SIX men have been jailed for working at what police say is the biggest cannabis factory to be discovered in Derbyshire.
The Vietnamese men were locked up for a total of nine-and-a-half years after being found at the industrial premises in Ripley with 3,840 plants.
It is estimated that the drugs being grown in the "massive commercial set-up" could have sold for more than £600,000, Derby Crown Court heard.
Derbyshire police said it was their biggest haul to date, with the growing equipment alone worth about £50,000.
But the men caught were just the "gardeners" and the people behind the venture have not been tracked down.
The court heard that each of the men had paid thousands of pounds to come over to the country illegally and ended up working in the cannabis factory to pay off their huge debts.
Judge Ebraham Mooncey said: "It has been submitted that you were victims in the sense that you were promised a better life for yourselves and your families if you came to this country.
"In order to get the better lives you and your families, no doubt, have paid dearly and accumulated debts and none of you have been able to contribute to paying that debt. I bear that in mind to some extent but you have to appreciate the industry you came to be working in is an illegal industry and causes a lot of other people to become victims.
"The factory unit you were working at was a very big enterprise indeed and none of you can assist the authorities in bringing the real criminals to book."
Police raided the site in Peasehill, Ripley, on June 14.
Power for the growing operation came directly from an electricity substation near the industrial unit, bypassing meters.
Alex Wolfson, prosecuting, said: "There had been massive interference with the electrical system but that cannot be brought against any of these individuals. These men should be dealt with as gardeners."
Hung Tran, Tuan Nguyen, Quyet Mai and Binh Nguyen, who admitted producing a Class B drug, were jailed for 18 months each.
Tu Truong and Ha Hoang, who admitted producing a Class B drug and being concerned in the production of cannabis, were sent to prison for 21 months.
Truong and Hoang's fingerprints were found on cannabis plant pots in a property that was raided in Wolverhampton, with 259 plants.
The men will be deported back to Vietnam when they are released. The court was told that the men had paid up to £25,000 to come to this country, travelling for days in the backs of lorries.
Stephen Lowne, speaking for the defendants, said: "These are very much victims and they have been clearly exploited by criminals.
"They are in the clutches of criminal gangs over here."
Following the court case, Steve Holme, a drug expert with Derbyshire police, said: "In the last couple of years some of the large organised crime groups have been going towards industrial units, where they are able to grow more plants at one time."
Mr Holme said they had warned owners and landlords about renting industrial units, telling them that insurers did not pay out for damage caused by cannabis growers. He said: "They could end up with a very big bill. We tell them to do regular checks and to look for the signs, such as people paying cash up front and asking the landlord not to visit."
Drugs on a huge scale
A POLICEMAN who took part in the raid said officers were shocked by the size of the drugs operation at the factory unit.
Det Con Richard Kubon said: "It was a massive warehouse, of which the main area was very carefully divided into five or six rooms using polythene and wooden frames.
"The different rooms had plants in different growing phases.
"We hadn't imagined it was going to be that large. We were very shocked when we realised the scale of it, as it was the largest one we had come across in the area. It was a very professional set-up with a very sophisticated filtration system.
"The power had been diverted so that it operated directly from an electricity substation outside. The people who set it up would have to have had quite a large knowledge of electrical systems."
He said there was a small kitchen area, about 6ft by 12ft, in which the six men lived.
"It was very basic, with mattresses on the floor, cooking facilities and a small portable DVD player. There were toilets in the room next door."
Police raided the property after being tipped off by members of the public.
DC Kubon said: "It was a very secretive operation. People would usually come during the night."
eace:
The Vietnamese men were locked up for a total of nine-and-a-half years after being found at the industrial premises in Ripley with 3,840 plants.
It is estimated that the drugs being grown in the "massive commercial set-up" could have sold for more than £600,000, Derby Crown Court heard.
Derbyshire police said it was their biggest haul to date, with the growing equipment alone worth about £50,000.
But the men caught were just the "gardeners" and the people behind the venture have not been tracked down.
The court heard that each of the men had paid thousands of pounds to come over to the country illegally and ended up working in the cannabis factory to pay off their huge debts.
Judge Ebraham Mooncey said: "It has been submitted that you were victims in the sense that you were promised a better life for yourselves and your families if you came to this country.
"In order to get the better lives you and your families, no doubt, have paid dearly and accumulated debts and none of you have been able to contribute to paying that debt. I bear that in mind to some extent but you have to appreciate the industry you came to be working in is an illegal industry and causes a lot of other people to become victims.
"The factory unit you were working at was a very big enterprise indeed and none of you can assist the authorities in bringing the real criminals to book."
Police raided the site in Peasehill, Ripley, on June 14.
Power for the growing operation came directly from an electricity substation near the industrial unit, bypassing meters.
Alex Wolfson, prosecuting, said: "There had been massive interference with the electrical system but that cannot be brought against any of these individuals. These men should be dealt with as gardeners."
Hung Tran, Tuan Nguyen, Quyet Mai and Binh Nguyen, who admitted producing a Class B drug, were jailed for 18 months each.
Tu Truong and Ha Hoang, who admitted producing a Class B drug and being concerned in the production of cannabis, were sent to prison for 21 months.
Truong and Hoang's fingerprints were found on cannabis plant pots in a property that was raided in Wolverhampton, with 259 plants.
The men will be deported back to Vietnam when they are released. The court was told that the men had paid up to £25,000 to come to this country, travelling for days in the backs of lorries.
Stephen Lowne, speaking for the defendants, said: "These are very much victims and they have been clearly exploited by criminals.
"They are in the clutches of criminal gangs over here."
Following the court case, Steve Holme, a drug expert with Derbyshire police, said: "In the last couple of years some of the large organised crime groups have been going towards industrial units, where they are able to grow more plants at one time."
Mr Holme said they had warned owners and landlords about renting industrial units, telling them that insurers did not pay out for damage caused by cannabis growers. He said: "They could end up with a very big bill. We tell them to do regular checks and to look for the signs, such as people paying cash up front and asking the landlord not to visit."
Drugs on a huge scale
A POLICEMAN who took part in the raid said officers were shocked by the size of the drugs operation at the factory unit.
Det Con Richard Kubon said: "It was a massive warehouse, of which the main area was very carefully divided into five or six rooms using polythene and wooden frames.
"The different rooms had plants in different growing phases.
"We hadn't imagined it was going to be that large. We were very shocked when we realised the scale of it, as it was the largest one we had come across in the area. It was a very professional set-up with a very sophisticated filtration system.
"The power had been diverted so that it operated directly from an electricity substation outside. The people who set it up would have to have had quite a large knowledge of electrical systems."
He said there was a small kitchen area, about 6ft by 12ft, in which the six men lived.
"It was very basic, with mattresses on the floor, cooking facilities and a small portable DVD player. There were toilets in the room next door."
Police raided the property after being tipped off by members of the public.
DC Kubon said: "It was a very secretive operation. People would usually come during the night."
eace:
