'Fiasco' in case of six men arrested over Bradford cannabis farm
SIX men arrested in connection with an illicit cannabis farm discovered in the basement of a Bradford city centre office block will face trial in September.
Sheraz Ahmed and Fiaz Akbar both pleaded not guilty to producing a controlled drug of Class B – cannabis – on November 25 last year.
They were arrested with four others when police raided the cannabis grow on Nelson Street, just yards from the main headquarters of West Yorkshire Police in Bradford.
However, the other four defendants, all Vietnamese nationals, could not be arraigned as three of the men were not present.
In addition, no Vietnamese interpreter was available for the hearing at Bradford Crown Court.
His Honour Judge Jonathan Rose, the Recorder of Bradford and the city’s senior judge, expressed his frustration that three defendants had not been produced as arranged and that a Vietnamese interpreter was also not present.
He described the proceedings as “a fiasco”.
Ahmed, 23, who appeared via video link from HMP Lincoln, and Akbar, 28, who appeared via video link from HMP Leeds, were both remanded in custody.
Phuc Ngo, 29, appeared via video link from HMP Leeds but did not enter a plea.
Hung Nguyen, 63, Ngayan Tuan, 29, and Van Tinh Nguyen, 58, were not present in court or via video link from prison. They too, with Ngo, were remanded in custody.
Prior to custody all six defendants were of no fixed abode in Bradford.
Judge Rose set a five-day plus trial to begin on September 1.
All six defendants will next appear in court on January 22 for a case management hearing.
Described by nearby residents as “massive” and “blatant” – being close to City Hall and on the same street as Trafalgar House police station – its discovery prompted an appeal for information from West Yorkshire Police.
A force spokesperson described it as “a large cannabis grow” and added: “Anyone with any information or who saw any suspicious activity in the area is asked to contact police via 101 or use the live chat options at www.westyorkshire.police.uk/livechat, quoting log 358 of November 25.
