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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Cannabis ring operators jailed after police find factories in Elmbridge By Louise Robertson Thisislocallondon Sunday 28 Aug 2011 Three men were sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Friday, August 26, to a total of 14-and-a-half years between them. Four Vietnamese nationals were also sentenced on Thursday, August 25. Detectives struck at seven addresses in Berkshire and Oxfordshire on November 30 last year, and at three more in Surrey on December 9 – one of which was close to Chelsea Football Club's training ground. A total of 7,000 cannabis plants and 15kg of processed cannabis were seized from the addresses, as well as 20 other properties searched in 2009 and 2010, with an estimated street value of about £20m. Police also seized £26,000 during the operation, which was led by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (Serocu). One raid in well-to-do Aspen Close, in Stoke D’Abernon, uncovered 240 cannabis plants, 433 cannabis cuttings and 202 cropped plants. Five rooms and a kitchen were converted in the large house, equating to an estimated annual yield of 50kg of skunk cannabis. Ajaz Asghar, 42, of Romsey Road, Reading, was at the centre of the conspiracy, masterminding a network of rentals of vacant properties, including many luxurious houses in the stockbroker belt. He was closely supported by his brother Fiyaz, 31, of Underwood Road, Reading, while Ajaz's girlfriend Hayley Ellison, 29, of Don Close, Reading, allowed her home to be used as the office for the enterprise. Detective Chief Inspector Paul Furnell of Serocu said: "This was a systematic and calculated attempt to feed the illicit drugs market throughout the south-east, with high strength cannabis, dealing in which directly affects the quality of life for local communities and individuals. "Our intelligence suggests that the houses had been used for at least 18 months. The conspiracy was typical of such operations in which minor players, often of Vietnamese origin, are used as farmers and caretakers at the rented properties while the organisers stay in the background. "However, our intelligence and inquiries enabled us to identify the people behind this scheme, and the sentences send a message that law enforcement is actively pursuing organised criminals engaged in this type of activity." Ajaz Asghar was sentenced to nine years for conspiracy to produce cannabis, and three years concurrently for conspiracy to provide vehicles to facilitate the production of cannabis. Fiyaz Asghar was sentenced to four years for conspiracy to produce cannabis, to run consecutively with a four-and-a-half year sentence he is currently serving for a separate fraud offence. Ellison received 18 months for conspiring to produce cannabis. Ngol Son Le, 34, Thong Nugyen, 36, and Bein Bui, 31, all of no fixed abode, were each sentenced to 21 months for cultivation of cannabis. Cong Pham, 31, of Clarendon Road, Reading, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment for the same offence. http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/9219522.Cannabis_ring_operators_jailed/
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