Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Man jailed over £1 million cannabis farm at former hotel

Evidence bags being removed by police at the Highlander Hotel in Buckie, Moray. Picture: Jason Hedges
Evidence bags being removed by police at the Highlander Hotel in Buckie, Moray. Picture: Jason Hedges

Cannabis worth almost £1 million was recovered from a drugs farm which had been set up by two illegal immigrants in a former Moray hotel, a court has heard.

The massive cultivation was discovered in September 2020, when residents in Buckie reported to police a strong smell coming from the old Highlander Hotel.

Officers obtained a search warrant for the premises, which have been closed since 2019, and arrested two Vietnamese men, following a brief chase.

It was eventually accepted that 35-year-old Thong Nguyn was the victim of human-trafficking and he is now back in Vietnam after agreeing to return there as a deportee.

But his 28-year-old co-accused Chien Van Le has been kept in custody for almost 22 months to determine his status.

Police load a van outside the Highlander Hotel in Buckie. Picture by Jason Hedges

Sheriffs who presided over the case were becoming increasingly impatient with the Home Office, which failed to give a definitive answer about Van Le.

However, Van Le has now pled guilty at Inverness Sheriff Court to being concerned in the production and supply of the drug.

If Van Le had been trafficked, he would have been deported instead of prosecuted.

After hearing the facts, Sheriff Robert Macdonald sentenced Van Le to 38 months in jail.

It was backdated to September 22 2020 and Van Le will be released into the custody of the Home Office and probably deported back to Vietnam.

Police load a van outside the Highlander Hotel in Buckie. Photo by Jason Hedges

Fiscal depute David Morton told the court that a total of 1,140 plants were recovered, although 300 of them weren’t worth anything.

He said that each plant would be valued at between £200 and £810, so the maximum street value would be £923,000.

Following the raid, a dozen evidence bags were stacked in the back of a police van, with officers appearing to struggle to find space for them all.

Other bags containing the dried drug were also removed.

Mr Morton said they were worth a maximum of £140,940.

The suspected illegal operation was reported to police by locals who had concerns about what was going on inside the property.

Parents of children who attend a primary school close to the hotel had also reported unusual smells emanating from the site.

When police moved in, they saw the two accused in the building before they made their brief escape by smashing a glass door.

The farm was located in 10 rooms of the three-storey building and another room, stacked with electrical equipment, was used to dry out the leaves, which were hanging from the ceiling and laid out across the floor.

Accused told he was growing medicine

Van Le’s solicitor Matthew O’Neill said his client smuggled himself into the UK via Russia, Poland and Paris to obtain work here.

The married father-of-two couldn’t get employment because of his illegal status but was given the opportunity by a Vietnamese couple in London to work in Buckie.

Mr O’Neill added: “He was told that individuals with links to the Asian community had an operation in the Highlander Hotel set up to grow what he was told was medicine.

“He indicated that he should have been aware that this was not a legal operation but in his position he felt he had to take it.”

For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.