Courts / Dublin / Report
Vietnamese men smuggled into Ireland to work in grow house, court hears
Summary
Two Vietnamese men, Ngog Toan Vu (54) and Thang Nguen Van (46), were smuggled into Ireland and pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis without a licence at a warehouse in Ballymount Drive, Dublin 12, on 10 May. The court heard that the warehouse contained six grow rooms with 1,469 cannabis plants, a 31‑kg vat of harvested cannabis, and a small living area. Gardaí seized €1.795 million worth of drugs. Vu travelled in a shipping container, paid a Chinese man for the trip, and was told he would work on a farm; he spent $40,000 of his savings and lived in the warehouse for seven weeks. Van, who had lived illegally in the UK and had convictions there, thought he would work as a chef and was coughing in the grow house. Both men were remanded and their sentences adjourned to 9 April 2025 to allow investigations into whether they were victims of human trafficking.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Vietnamese men smuggled into Ireland to work in grow house, court hears. Charges or matters: one count of cultivating cannabis without a licence at a warehouse unit in Ballymount Drive in Dublin 12 on May 10 this year. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- May 10 Adjournment
- April 9 Adjournment
- 2017-12-08 Publication
Why: Because both men are illegal, they will most likely be deported upon their release from custody, unless they are found to have been the victims of human trafficking. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: one count of cultivating cannabis without a licence at a warehouse unit in Ballymount Drive in Dublin 12 on May 10 this year (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Their sentence was adjourned to April next year to allow for investigations to continue as to whether they were the victims of human traffickers.; Their sentence was adjourned to April next year to allow for investigations to continue as to whether they were the victims of human traffickers.
Defendant
Charges: one count of cultivating cannabis without a licence at a warehouse unit in Ballymount Drive in Dublin 12 on May 10 this year (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Their sentence was adjourned to April next year to allow for investigations to continue as to whether they were the victims of human traffickers.; Their sentence was adjourned to April next year to allow for investigations to continue as to whether they were the victims of human traffickers.
Places mentioned
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Ballymount Drive
Topics
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