HANOI – Three Vietnamese nationals have been convicted for their roles in a crime gang that trafficked migrants and forced them to work in cannabis farms across the UK. The operation was uncovered following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation that identified the ringleader, Mai Van Nguyen, 35, of Beetham Tower, Birmingham. Nguyen had previously been convicted of people smuggling and was found to have run extensive cannabis operations in the Midlands, London, and the north of England.
Nguyen worked alongside fellow Vietnamese nationals Doung Dinh, 38, and Nghia Dinh Tran, 24, to exploit migrants who had been trafficked to the UK. The victims were forced to work in several cannabis farms across the country.
During a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, a Vietnamese national, known as ‘Witness Z,’ gave crucial evidence for the prosecution. Witness Z described how he was trafficked into the UK in November 2020 and exploited by the gang. Initially arriving to pay off a debt he owed for his wife’s medical treatment, he was taken from London to Birmingham, where he was forced to work at a cannabis grow in Tipton, West Midlands.
Witness Z was later moved to several other cannabis farms across the UK, including one in Tyseley, Birmingham, and another in Hartlepool, Teesside, which was raided by Cleveland Police in June 2021. Officers discovered a distressing note pinned to a bedroom door, reading “take what you want, please don’t hit me, I do not know English.” A hand-written diary extract from another migrant revealed the trauma they endured, asking “why did I get beaten up and forced to work?”
Further raids revealed more cannabis farms linked to the criminal network, including locations in Chaddesden, Derby, East Ham, London, and Birmingham. Tran was arrested at one of these sites, where police found dozens of cannabis plants and two migrants.
In August 2022, Dinh was arrested at his partner’s address in Birmingham. By then, Nguyen had already been detained in Liverpool for his involvement in a separate migrant smuggling operation. He was re-arrested for the cannabis trafficking offenses in September 2022.
Nguyen and Tran both pleaded guilty to conspiring to produce cannabis. Three other men who were not from Vietnam were also convicted in the case. After a seven-week trial, all six men were found guilty of all charges on February 24.
NCA Branch Commander Kevin Broadhead condemned the exploitation, stating, “These men were responsible for the abuse and exploitation of migrants, who were trafficked into the UK and forced to work in degrading conditions. The gang saw these migrants solely as a source of profit, with no regard for their safety or humanity.”
The investigation uncovered several cannabis farms across the UK, including locations in Tipton, Coventry, Edgbaston, Derby, Hartlepool, East Ham, and Gatley, Cheshire. Harvested cannabis was also recovered from a property in Hall Green, Birmingham.
The convicted men are currently remanded in custody and will be sentenced on July 4.
