AN illegal migrant who was involved in a Penketh cannabis farm which had a value of up to £500,000 has been jailed.

Lam Tan Cahn tended to more than 500 cannabis plants inside an address on Maple Crescent in exchange for lodging and food parcels.

But his two-month ‘gardening’ job came to an end after police raided the property back in February.

The 35-year-old Vietnamese national, of no fixed abode, appeared before Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday where he was assisted by an interpreter.

Here, he pleaded guilty to the production of controlled class B drugs.

Prosecuting Michael Witty said following a police raid at the Maple Crescent address, 538 cannabis plants in ‘different states of maturity’ were found.

Warrington Guardian:

Officers also found that the electric metre for the property had been bypassed and that there was a ‘relatively sophisticated’ setup in place.

Mr Witty said it is estimated that there was between 15kg to 45kg of cannabis with a production value worth between £60,000 to £50,000.

The court heard how papers were found at the scene including notes on the wall which had feeding instructions for the plants in each room.

Defending, Simon Parry said his client came to the UK in 2017 to seek asylum.

He said: “His reason for coming from Vietnam was that he was in debt to the tune of £60,000 from a loan shark, and the interest on that loan was rising.

“He fled the country due to the debt that he was not in the position to pay. He came to the UK and claimed asylum on the grounds he was in fear of returning.”

But after Cahn was released from Home Office detention, he failed to attend further interviews which meant he was living in the country illegally.

Mr Parry said his client had nowhere to live and was reliant on friends within the Vietnamese community – which led to him being offered the job of looking after cannabis plants at an address in Warrington.

The court heard how the job provided him with a place to stay and he was brought regular food parcels in exchange for tending to the plants.

Mr Parry added: “His function was to tend to the cannabis plants, he was nothing more than a gardener.”

Cahn has no previous convictions.

Concluding, the honorary recorder of Liverpool judge Andrew Menary KC, said: “You must have had a good idea of the scale of this particular enterprise and what the facility was capable of producing.

“You are plainly playing an important part within the chain of production.

“You were not forced to do this you chose to do this.

“You had the option to return back to Vietnam but instead you chose to carry out work that was thoroughly illegal.”

Cahn was jailed for 18 months.