Belconnen, Gungahlin: Drugs raids uncover four cannabis crops, 200 plants
A stray fingerprint found on a bag of cannabis in Queensland more than a month ago has resulted in police discovering ‘sophisticated’ hydroponic setups in Canberra.
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A stray fingerprint found on a bag of cannabis in Queensland more than a month ago resulted in police busting a massive drug crop in Canberra on Monday.
Vietnamese national Anh Duc Pham, 44, fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday after a night in the police lockup, and was formally refused bail after no interpreter could be found.
Pham will reappear in court on Wednesday.
Pham is charged with cultivating and trafficking cannabis and did not enter pleas on Tuesday.
Queensland police in February found 30kg of cannabis during a routine roadside stop at Willowbank, outside Ipswich, and a fingerprint found on the vacuum-sealed bags the drugs were prompted raids at four rental properties in Belconnen and Gungahlin.
In a statement, police said each of the rental properties was being used as “grow house”, with “sophisticated” hydroponic setups growing commercial crops.
There was no evidence the owners of the rental properties knew their houses were being used in the drug trade, and fake IDs found in the raids suggested they had been hoodwinked into renting the homes out to people using assumed identities, police said.
“There is no evidence that any of the homeowners were aware that their properties were being used for commercial cannabis production and these homeowners will be many thousands of dollars out of pocket as a result of the damage and contamination of their properties,” the statement said.
More than 200 plants were seized in the raid, along with 51 seedlings and dried cannabis with a street value of $90,000.
The drugs were packaged in 1l vacuum-sealed bags, police said.
Magistrate Bernadette Boss on Tuesday said the charges Pham was facing were serious.
The court heard Pham had overstayed his Australian visa, and Border Force officials waiting in court would have detained him — and possibly deported him — had he been granted bail.
Ms Boss said the prospect of Pham being deported ahead of his next court appearance meant she had no option but to refuse him bail.