A drugs gang who used rental properties in the city to grow cannabis have been jailed.

It operated across the North West with houses in Preston, Blackpool, Burscough, Oswaldtwistle and Liverpool all used to grow drugs.

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Preston Crown Court heard how Lancashire Police busted the Vietnamese Gang and recovered cannabis valued at just under £1million.

Sixteen members of the gang were jailed for more than 35 years.

Ringleaders Jack Nguyen and Trang Nguyen were assisted by Hoai Nguyen and Thanh Thi Nguyen, the girlfriend of Jack.

They rented the properties and made themselves attractive to potential landlords by posing as a couple with a baby on the way or with a new born child.

The gang used false names and false documents and used cash to pay deposits.

Detectives uncovered a quarter of a million pounds in cash during raids in March this year at 21 homes across the city and Lancashire and Merseyside.

What the police had to say

Dective Sergeant Stu Peall, from the East Exploitation Team, said: “I welcome these sentences which reflect the serious nature of the offending. This was a sophisticated organised criminal group making huge amounts of money from their operation which stretched across the north west of England.
“Many defendants claimed to be trafficked and some claiming to be children, all of these defences were proved to be lies and simply just a tactic used to avoid detection.

“I would like to thank the jury for their careful consideration of this case, and the Crown Prosecution Service, in particular Nicky Moore, Karen Brooks and barrister Jeremy Grout Smith.

“Lancashire Constabulary will continue to proactively target the production of cannabis which can have lasting physical and mental health effects on users as well as having a negative effect on our communities and fuelling other crime and we are determined to tackle that.

“We need the public to continue to work with us to help us tackle drug crime by informing us of any suspicious activity.”

Read more: Preston drugs baron jailed for running heroin and cocaine gang

The jail terms

Jack Nguyen, 28, of Webster Avenue, Bootle. Pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis and money laundering. Jailed for seven years and four months.

Trang Huong Nguyen, aka Annie, 28, of Berry Street, Liverpool. Convicted of Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis. Jailed for three years and nine months.

Hoai Nguyen, 18, of Wellington Road, Manchester. Pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering. Jailed for one year and six months.

Thang Van Nguyen, 34, of Pall Mall, Liverpool. Pleaded guilty to money laundering. Jailed for one year and five months.

Thanh Thi Nguyen, 21, of Webster Avenue, Bootle. Admitted Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis and money laundering. Jailed for three years and nine months.

Thuong Hoai Vu, 24, of Webster Avenue, Bootle. Admitted Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis. Jailed for two years.

Kim Thien Tran, 30, of Webster Avenue, Bootle. Admitted Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis. Jailed for two years and four months.

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Toan Vo, 31, of Westminster Road, Birmingham. Admitted Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis. Jailed for three years and four months.

Duoc Tran, 33, of Webster Avenue, Bootle. Convicted of Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis. Jailed for one year and four months.

Khai Quoc Tran, 36, of Webster Avenue, Bootle. Convicted of Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis. Jailed for one year and six months.

Huy Hoang Nguyen, 19, of Webster Avenue, Bootle. Convicted of Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis. Jailed for eight months.

Hoi Thi Nguyen, 40, of Webster Avenue, Bootle. Pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis. Jailed for one year and four months.

Giap Nguyen, 34, of April Grove, Liverpool. Pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis. Jailed for one year and four months.

Trang Nguyen, 67, of Webster Avenue, Bootle. Pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis. Jailed for one year and four months.

Dong Ho, 32, of Sharrow Grove, Blackpool. Pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis. Jailed for one year.

Anh Van Nguyen, 19, of Lonsdale Road, Blackpool. Pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis. Jailed for ten months.