UK jails Vietnamese members of large-scale cannabis operation

36-year-old Huy Hoang Phan and his associate Nam Van Hoang, 39, were arrested and sentenced for large-scale cannabis farming and distribution on Friday, Chronicle Live reported this week.

Phan ran a number of farms across the Northeast U.K. and Scotland. He recruited Vietnamese workers to grow the crop and then distributed it across the U.K.

The police said Phan was the master puppeteer of the operation, pulling the strings and coordinating every member’s location and action.

He was arrested while setting up a farm in Gainsborough Grove, Fenham. Officers spent months tracing him across the region.

Phan’s associate Nam Van Hoang was also arrested at the scene. Police found 80 plants worth £40,000 ($52,000) in the property.

After pleading guilty to being the mastermind behind the £500,000 ($656,000) cannabis farming operation, Phan was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Hoang pleaded guilty to producing cannabis and was jailed for one year.

During six months of investigation across several regions of the U.K., four of Phan’s associates have been arrested and sentenced for cannabis production and possession.