Two major organised crime groups that exploited illegal migrants to run cannabis farms across England have been dismantled following National Crime Agency (NCA) investigations — with eight men jailed for a combined total of nearly 80 years.
Both gangs were led by ringleaders based in Birmingham and operated farms across the Midlands, London and the north of England,
using vulnerable migrants to manage illegal grows in residential and commercial properties.
In the first case, convicted people smuggler Mai Van Nguyen, 35, of Beetham Tower, Birmingham, led a Vietnamese network exploiting migrants to work in cannabis farms. He was assisted by Doung Dinh, 38, also from Birmingham, and Nghia Dinh Tran, 24, from Lewisham, London.
The group used Birmingham taxi drivers Shamraiz Akhtar and Tasawar Hussain, both 50, to transport workers and equipment for the farms. Amjad Nawaz, 44, acted as a middleman in the operation, communicating regularly with Nguyen about workers, drug sales, and properties.
Evidence presented during a seven-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court included testimony from a trafficking victim, ‘Witness Z’, a Vietnamese man who arrived in the UK by boat in 2020 and was forced to work in various cannabis farms under threat and debt bondage.
Cannabis farms linked to this gang were discovered in Tipton, Coventry, Edgbaston, Derby, Hartlepool, East Ham and Gatley. Harvested cannabis was also recovered in Hall Green, Birmingham.
Nguyen and Tran pleaded guilty to cannabis production, while all six denied trafficking offences. However, on 24 February, they were all convicted of all charges.
On Friday 4 July, sentencing was handed down as follows:
Mai Van Nguyen – 15 years
Doung Dinh – 14 years
Nghia Dinh Tran – 11.5 years
Amjad Nawaz – 12 years
Tasawar Hussain – 10 years
Shamraiz Akhtar – 10.5 years
In a separate NCA investigation concluded the same day, another Birmingham ringleader, Roman Le, 37, headed a gang operating at least eight cannabis farms. Le posed as a property developer to secure locations, including a former nightclub in Coventry, a pub in Birmingham, and a hotel in Lancashire.
He worked with Yihao Feng, 29, from Manchester, who acted as operations manager, and David Qayumi, 36, from Birmingham, who helped acquire properties under the guise of legitimate business dealings.
The farms, capable of generating millions in profits, were often disguised with scaffolding and manned by illegal Vietnamese and Albanian migrants.
Feng was jailed for 3 years and 2 months, and Qayumi for 3 years and 4 months. Le will be sentenced on 30 July.
The NCA said both operations demonstrate the clear link between people smuggling and organised cannabis production, with vulnerable individuals being trafficked and exploited by ruthless gangs for profit.