A WOMAN has been punished for her role as gardener for a £100,000 South Cumbria cannabis farm — four-and-a-half years after the illegal operation was unearthed.

Thuy Nguyen, now aged 52, answered the door of an address at Church Hill in Arnside, in February, 2017, to police called amid concerns about the property’s use.

“When officers attended, there was initially no response,” said Alistair Reid, prosecuting at Carlisle Crown Court. “But there were people seen inside the property, apparently trying to hide.

“When Ms Nguyen opened the front door with a key, she indicated to the officers that she may have previously been threatened.

Police noted smell of cannabis from inside the address. “It was searched and another involved defendant was found in a cellar, trying to hide in a wheelie bin,” said Mr Reid.

This was a fellow Vietnamese national — 48-year-old Duong Pham — who was jailed for eight months in late 2017 having admitted a cannabis production charge.

Nguyen initially denied the same allegation but delays and the resolution of legal issues meant she was not brought before Carlisle Crown Court until today (Fri).

A total of 388 cannabis plants of varying stages of maturity were found within bedrooms and an en suite bathroom. “A series of rooms had been converted to a sophisticated cannabis production operation,” said the prosecutor.

It was estimated the plants could have yielded almost 20kg of cannabis — potentially worth just under £99,000 if sold on the street.

Nguyen, of no fixed address, admitted cannabis production. She denied an additional charge of electricity abstraction although Mr Reid said her guilty plea to the order charge was acceptable. Speaking with the help of an interpreter: “I am just a woman. I wouldn’t know what to do about abstracting electricity.”

Nguyen claimed she initially believed that tobacco was being grown in the house. Mr Reid told the court: “It is accepted this defendant performed a limited function, under direction, and was likely to be engaged by forms of control and coercion.”

Holly Menary, defending, confirmed Nguyen — whose husband attended court in support — was a woman of previous good character. She had spent 276 days — the equivalent of a nine-month jail term — on remand in custody.

Noting that this was during the Covid pandemic which made prison conditions poorer, Judge Andrew Jefferies QC imposed a four-month jail term. This, he told Nguyen, was likely to result in her immediate release although she will be subject to post-sentence supervision.

“For a period of about a month, you were effectively a helper and gardener with your co-defendant,” said Judge Jefferies. “You played a limited role under direction but the operation was a significant one.”