By James Simons-
A Vietnamese man has pleaded guilty to possessing around 2.6kg of cannabis with intent to supply cannabis he claims not to have known about.
Kien Truong, 32, from Eccleshill in Bradford, was sentenced to nine months in prison, after cannabis worth a street value of £25K was found at a house where he was staying. He claimed to have no knowledge of the cannabis. He claimed police told him to plead guilty to the drug if he wanted to be able to return to Vietnam quickly.
Honour Judge Jonathan Gibson rejected his claim not to have know abut the drugs, and said Truong had a significant role because at the very least he had some awareness and understanding of the scale of the operation.
Cannabis was found in a carrier bag in the living room and also in the drawer of a cabinet.
Some cannabis was found in a carrier bag in the living room and also in the drawer of a cabinet.
There was also cannabis in the dining room on top of the fridge, in the front bedroom, which was the main bedroom, and where Truong was occupying there were some notebooks but no actual drugs.
The majority of the drugs were found in a second bedroom – there were three vacuum-sealed bags containing over two kilos of cannabis. It appeared that cannabis had been recently harvested and in a third bedroom there was equipment associated with growing cannabis.
Truang admitted moving some equipment in the house but said he did not know what it was and denied any involvement with cannabis.
Truong pleaded guilty on February 23, but said he did not know about the cannabis in the house in Pullan Avenue and claimed police told him in interview he should plead so he could return to his home country quickly.