Cannabis worth £100,000 found growing in house in Leeds

Officers discovered the plants growing in bedrooms and a loft conversion of the property on Whinmoor Crescent, Whinmoor, after receiving a tip-off about the illegal operation.

Michael Collins, prosecuting, said a total of 140 plants were seized in total during the operation on September 1 last year.

Sophisticated growing equipment and fans had been set up in the large family-sized property.

The bathroom was being used to store plant food and the living room had been converted into a sleeping area.

Mr Collins said: “This was a cannabis operation capable of the production of significant quantities for commercial use.”

No one was in the house at the time. Forensic experts recovered DNA from the scene which linked Tuan Ho to the illegal operation.

Ho, aged 20, was already serving a prison sentence at the time of the discovery over a similar offence at a property in the Birmingham area.

Ho, a Vietnamese national, appeared before Leeds Crown Court via a video link where he is currently serving a two year sentence. He pleaded guilty to producing cannabis

The court heard Ho had entered the UK illegally and had been introduced to a man who offered him food and shelter in exchange for looking after the plants.

Recorder Gurdial Singh gave ho a nine month prison sentence, to run consecutive to the sentence he is currently serving. Ho faces being deported upon his release from custody