Man sentenced after 240 cannabis plants found in flat

A man has been sentenced after neighbourhood officers at Gwent Police discovered a large-scale cannabis cultivation hidden inside a flat on Commercial Street in Newport city centre.

Officers were called to the property on 27 November last year following reports of a suspected cannabis grow. When they searched the flat, they found 240 plants spread across three rooms – 119 in one, 65 in another and 56 in a third – along with lighting equipment used to cultivate the drugs.

A man was arrested inside the property and two mobile phones were recovered.

Hung Phan, 29, pleaded guilty to producing a controlled drug of class B – cannabis – and was sentenced to nine months at Newport Crown Court on Thursday 12 February.

PC Oliver Grimas, the officer in the case, said:

“I want to reassure all residents, businesses, staff and visitors that we’re working together with our partners to make life better in Newport city centre for everyone.

“We receive regular intelligence from within the city centre that our teams analyse, investigate and act upon and we’re grateful for the continued support of our residents.

“Commercial burglaries in the city centre, for example, have fallen by 18.3% in the current financial year to date compared to the previous year.

“Reports of violence with injury offences have dropped by 9.5% over the same timeframe.

“However, the threat posed by organised crime groups cannot be understated.

“The profits from the production, sale and supply of drugs can have far-reaching effects on our communities and are often used by organised crime groups to fund criminal activities.

“We’ll continue to do all we can to investigate suspicious behaviour and take action against criminals to protect vulnerable people from harm.

“We ask all landlords and registered owners of all occupied and vacant properties, businesses or garages, located in the city centre of Newport or further afield, to conduct regular checks on their premises to ensure they are not being used for illegal activity.”