[Sativa]

A CARLISLE man accused of helping to run a cannabis farm claimed yesterday that he only ever met his co-accused for dinner.

Nagoc Toan Vu, 40, of Currock Road, insists the discovery of a cigarette butt with traces of his DNA on it at the drugs factory was a complete mystery because he had never been there, Snaresbrook Crown Court was told.

Vu was linked to the gang when police surveillance officers saw him visiting the house of Kim Liem Nguyen, 36, and Chieng Van Tran, 41, who were under surveillance.

But Vu claims he only ever saw Nguyen, and Tran, socially.

He said: “They asked me to stay for a meal. Every time I return to London Kim Liem invites me to dinner and offers me somewhere to stay.”

Vu denies ever having visited a house in Gunton Road, Clapton, east London, which police found to be a ‘fully operational cannabis factory’ containing more than 272 plants in five rooms.

“I don’t know how the cigarette got there. I have never been there,” he said, “We share cigarettes. I give Chieng a cigarette and he gives me a cigarette. Sometimes I smoke it but sometimes I would keep it. It’s just polite to take it.”

Vu; Nguyen and Van Tran, both of Wellington Way; Bow Tham, of no fixed address, and Thang-Dang, of Church Street, Lower Edmonton, all deny conspiracy to cultivate cannabis, a class C drug.

Nguyen and Van Tran alone further deny possession of a prohibited firearm and possession of ammunition without a firearm certificate.

Timothy Clark, defending Tran, said: “The reality is that you cannot explain how the cigarette end ended up in Gunton Road and you accept that there’s no evidence whatsoever for why it should be there.”

“I don’t know how it got there,” replied Vu.

The trial continues


Newshawk: Lord Mong - 420Magazine.com
Source - UKCIA News Database
Copyright - UKCIA
Website - Cannabis News: UK: Man denies running London drugs factory