Grower in the dock

Jun 20 2008 by Laurie Stocks-Moore, Chester Chronicle

WEI LANGFANG appeared at Chester Magistrates Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to being “concerned in the production of cannabis by another”.

Prosecutor Karen Morgan-Reed said police found bags of fertiliser, wires hanging from the ceiling, hydroponic lighting, foil-lined walls and floors and the windows blacked out.

She said: “The defendant was searched and £295 seized, together with a number of mobile phones.”

The estimated street value of the plants found, if cultivated, is £15,000.

She added Langfang had responded to a job advert in a Chinese newspaper.

Peter Bagby, defending, said: “The defendant wishes to be dealt with as soon as practicably possible, serve his sentence and return to China.”

Chair of the bench Hugh Jones said he had dealt with another case with “almost exactly the same circumstances”.

He added: “I wonder if anyone is doing anything about targeting the people who are trafficking humans in this horrendous way. I hope they get whoever is behind it.”

Langfang will be sentenced at Chester Crown Court on July 14. He has now been served with deportation notices.