A Carlton man has been jailed for just over a year at Nottingham Crown Court for his part in a major drugs operation.
Huy Quoc Tran, aged 37, of Honeywood Drive pleaded guilty to conspiring to produce cannabis and was jailed for 13 months.
He was among five members of a drugs gang that first came to police attention during a routine traffic stop.
A silver Mercedes was seen driving erratically by police officers before it was stopped in West Bridgford on January 26, 2023.
The driver immediately fled on foot, leaving behind a 16-year-old girl who was suspected of being illegally trafficked into the UK.
Detectives had the car recovered and forensically examined in the weeks after the stop, and were later able to link lead conspirator Hai Quoc Tran to the car by fingerprints.
An intelligence-led investigation was commenced by officers at Nottinghamshire Police’s Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Team, which led to another vehicle of interest being stopped in the Redhill area of Nottingham in July 2023.
That car was also found to contain Hai Quoc Tran and accomplice Thi Hong Trang Nguyen.
Crucially, it was also carrying two mobile phones that were later found to contain evidence of large-scale drug dealing.
Alongside images of cannabis and bundles of cash, officers uncovered a treasure trove of evidence revealing the identities of other conspirators.
That evidence – supported by subsequent investigation work – helped to secure a series of coordinated search warrants at five addresses across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire on 30 November 2023.
At one of those properties, in Honeywood Drive, Nottingham, eight large vacuum-packed bags of cannabis were found underneath a bed.
Other properties had been converted for the purpose of growing cannabis, and contained drugs worth more than £700,000.
Nearly £14,000 in cash was also seized, along with large quantities of designer handbags, sunglasses and belts. Fake ID documents were also recovered.
Most of these items were seized at an address in Blue Bell Hill Road, Nottingham, where Hai Quoc Tran and Thi Hong Trang Nguyen were arrested and taken into custody.
The other four gang members received the following sentences:
Hai Quoc Tran, aged 39, of no fixed address, was found guilty of conspiring to produce cannabis and conspiring to supply cannabis.
Lien Thi Nguyen, aged 48, of Glen Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield, was found guilty of the same offences.
They were jailed for four years and six months and three years respectively.
Thi Hong Trang Nguyen, aged 38, of Blue Bell Hill Road, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to conspiring to produce class B drugs and was jailed for three years and six months.
Thuan Quoc Tran, aged 29, of Frederick Street, South Shields, also pleaded guilty to conspiring to produce cannabis and was jailed for three years 13 months.
The 16 year-old-girl found in the back of the car in West Bridgford was later identified and remains in the UK.
Detective Constable Nicola Watson, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Modern slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Team, said: “What started out as a human trafficking investigation slowly morphed into a far larger drugs conspiracy. Cannabis farms are often linked to more serious crime and fund activities such as human trafficking and modern slavery. These people were each involved in a very significant conspiracy designed to put large amounts of cannabis onto the streets of the East Midlands.
“Growing cannabis on this scale is not a victimless crime. The residential properties used by this group, rented out by unsuspecting landlords, were left dangerous and inhabitable due to the significant damage caused in order to facilitate cannabis grows of a commercial-scale.
“Their actions also posed considerable fire risks to unsuspecting neighbours – courtesy of dangerous modifications to electricity supplies and storing of large quantities of combustible materials.
“I am pleased they have now been jailed.”
