By Aneeka Simonis
A MAN busted over a highly-sophisticated commercial cannabis growing operation in Pakenham during a property housing inspection has been sentenced to jail.
Van Tran, 21, pleaded guilty to cultivating more than 70 kilograms of marijuana in the Hound Court, Pakenham home in November last year.
He was sentenced to 15 months’ jail, in the County Court of Victoria in July.
Police raided the home after getting a tip-off from the property manager.
During an inspection of the home, the managing agent found six rooms filled with hydroponically-grown cannabis.
An automatic watering system and intense lighting had been installed into the rooms protected by changed locks, the court heard.
Police raided the home early on 11 November, uncovering 188 plants and loose cannabis leaves weighing 73.1 kilograms.
Tran was arrested and taken in for questioning at Pakenham police station.
He told police he was also promised $6000 to mind another crop growing in a Springvale home.
Tran, who moved to Australia from Vietnam in 2013, has already served half of his jail sentence.
At the time of the raid, Cardinia Crime Investigation Unit (CIU) Leading Senior Constable Trudy Neylan confirmed the busted crop house was linked to a separate Vietnamese-led cannabis operation uncovered in Pakenham a week earlier.
Police detected more than 150 plants from a home in Salvia Avenue, Pakenham on 6 November.
