Two men jailed in Australia for growing cannabis — ABC News Australia
In the Australian state of Victoria, a court sentenced Duy Duc Dao and Quoc Van Tran to 12.5 years in prison each for cultivating a large commercial quantity of cannabis at a farm in Toolamba near Shepparton. As ABC News reports, they will be eligible for parole after serving at least eight years and four months.
Record seizure
Victoria Police raided the property on February 9, 2022. In two large greenhouses with lighting and irrigation systems, officers found 8,805 cannabis plants.
The total weight of the plants was 5.1 tonnes, so police had to drive trucks onto vehicle scales to weigh them. Judge Pardeep Tiwana said it was the largest recorded cannabis seizure by weight in Victoria. The weight seized was more than 20 times the threshold for a large commercial quantity.
Police estimated the potential value of the crop, if it had matured and been sold wholesale, at A$22–26 million.
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Equipment and other suspects
During the search, large electrical switchboards with timers, water tanks, power tools, fertilisers and a board with a plant pollination schedule were found on the premises. According to the source, the electricity and water meters at the site had been tampered with to conceal the farm's operations.
Dao and Tran pleaded guilty to cultivating a large commercial quantity of cannabis. The judge noted that they were not merely plant caretakers, but had been trusted by the organisers of the scheme. Both claimed that they initially did not know the work was illegal, but the judge said that they later made no attempt to leave.
Three other allegedly involved people failed to appear on the eve of the trial after being released on bail and remain wanted, the judge said. Both convicted men are 36 years old, and Tran is likely to face deportation from Australia after completing his prison term.
