Gang set up cannabis factory in 'designer homes'

Four men have been jailed for running a drugs factory containing cannabis with a street value of about £1.8m.

It was discovered in two neighbouring "designer" homes in Mill Road, in Fen Drayton, Cambridgeshire.

Thao Hoang, 44, and Ban Hoang, 50, admitted production of cannabis, while Nam Nguyen, 21 and Thao Nguyen, 39, were found guilty at a trial.

The men, all of Mill Road in the village near St Ives, have each been jailed for 13 months at Peterborough Crown Court.

Police found more than 1,850 plants, with a yield of up to £1.8m, growing in 19 different rooms in the two new-build homes.

Thao Hoang and Nam Nguyen were found hiding in a cupboard on the top floor of one house while Ban Hoang and Phao Nguyen ran from the property and jumped a fence into the village where they were caught by officers.

Growing equipment, cash and mobile phones were also seized.

At the time of the arrests, in January, police said what had once been two "designer homes" had been "destroyed, with windows boarded, holes in walls, doors removed and cabling everywhere".

Speaking after the men were sentenced, Det Con Kieran Wickens, said: "Thanks to information received and our own investigation, we were able to shut down this cannabis factory.

"We can't be everywhere and we rely on people in communities being our eyes and ears. If you suspect something isn't right, it more than likely isn't."

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