Trong Nguyen pleaded guilty to involvement in cannabis houses at Aberglasslyn and Hunterview

In elaborate set-ups found two years apart, two Hunter homes were raided and more than 500 cannabis plants seized. DNA then linking them to a Cardiff man.

A Vietnamese-born from Cardiff involved in two “sophisticated” hydroponic set-ups, harbouring hundreds of cannabis plants, discovered more than two years apart, was linked through a DNA match.

Trong Cuong Nguyen, 29, pleaded guilty to knowingly taking part in cultivation of a large quantity of cannabis and knowingly taking part in cultivation of a commercial quantity of cannabis.

In March 2018, Strike Force Devom was set up after a large amount of cannabis was discovered after an Aberglasslyn home was raided.

The home in Aberglasslyn where more than 300 cannabis plants were discovered. Credit: NSW Police

Police facts said officers went to the Honeysuckle Dr residence on an unrelated matter and when they knocked on the front door, there was no answer but lights on inside, and they could hear mechanical humming coming from inside the garage.

Officers believe persons inside at the time may have fled from the rear of the property.

Two days later police raided the home, revealing 321 cannabis plants inside and an elaborate set-up spanning five rooms — including inside the walk-in-robe and ensuite — with complex ventilation, lighting and a watering system.

It was a “sophisticated” set-up at the Aberglasslyn home. Credit: NSW Police

According to police facts, there were also timers, electrical wiring, fans and irrigation pipes, while walls were lined with foil for insulation and 22kg of loose cannabis leaf was also found.

Exhibits were seized for forensic testing and DNA and fingerprints gathered.

Some time later in October 2019, police were notified of suspicious activity at a Hunterview residence in Singleton.

Suspecting the home was being used to grow cannabis, for the next three months police set up surveillance at the property to confirm their suspicions.

On January 31 last year, Nguyen was seen leaving the Dimmock St residence in his vehicle. Police followed and spoke to the 29-year-old, but it wasn’t until September he was arrested after being sighted taking the bins out at the property.

Some of the cannabis plants seized at Aberglasslyn. Credit: NSW Police

Police facts said officers again uncovered a “sophisticated” hydroponic set-up, with each room filled with bright yellow heat lamps hanging over rows of cannabis.

248 cannabis plants were seized and Nguyen’s DNA was again discovered on items inside the residence, which also linked him to the hydroponic house at Aberglasslyn in 2018.

In Newcastle District Court on Thursday, Nguyen didn’t appear but the court fixed a sentence hearing date in October, while a Vietnamese interpreter was also ordered.