A Kingsville man has been sentenced to 18 months jail for house sitting a commercial quantity of cannabis.
Hiep Dang Nguyen, 59, was found guilty in the County Court on October 30 for assisting others in growing the crop.
Police found the cannabis crop of 110 plants, weighing 22.67 kilograms in total and spread through four rooms of the house, when they attended a fire at a Kingsville premises on June 8.
Nguyen admitted to police that he agreed to stay at the house to convey the impression that it was occupied, and he was aware of the plants soon after moving in.
Although Nguyen was unaware of the crop before he moved in, Justice Richard Smith concluded that he chose to stay at the house once he became aware of the cannabis.
Nguyen came to Australia in 2007 on a three-month tourist visa to obtain labouring work in Victoria.
The court heard that his involvement in the crop house was a consequence of his financial difficulties and inability to find accommodation in Melbourne.
Sentencing Nguyen, Justice Smith recognised that his involvement was only for a matter of days and he played no role in caring for or managing the crop.
“Nevertheless, I acknowledge that you played a role in the operation and that, by residing at the house, you knew you were assisting and creating an impression that it was a normal residential home and, therefore, were helping to divert suspicion of illicit activity and intending to reduce the prospect of detection of the crop,” Justice Smith said.
Nguyen’ has no prior convictions, but Justice Smith said a custodial sentence was warranted.
Nguyen will serve a minimum of nine months jail before being eligible for parole.
