Kingswood cannabis 'gardener' jailed

A VIETNAMESE-born German citizen who helped grow cannabis with a street value of £86,000 in a Kingswood house has been jailed for 20 months.

Manh Seefeldt was found by police trying to escape from a home in Kimberley Road, which had been turned into a cannabis factory.

Seefeldt, 26, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the production of a Class C drug.

Imposing sentence Judge Michael Longman told him: “You were a gardener and acting on instructions of others in tending these plants.

“The cultivation of cannabis in artificial conditions in houses such as this is a widespread problem and prison sentences must be heavy on those who involve themselves with it.”

The judge ordered the destruction of all drugs and drugs paraphernalia found at the scene and ordered that £335 found on Seefeldt and at the premises be confiscated within two months.

Julian Howells, prosecuting, told the court the terraced house had been decorated in June last year to be rented out and had been advertised in the Evening Post.

He said “A female of Vietnamese origin agreed to rent it for £700 a month and paid a £700 deposit. As time went on the landlord noticed the windows of the house were invariably closed and the lady's phone number was disconnected.”

The court heard police forced entry on May 15 and found the house largely in darkness with a strong smell of cannabis and Seefeldt trying to climb out of a window.

Mr Howells said “The electric meter had been bypassed and in four rooms of the house were 349 cannabis plants growing. They were in various stages of growth and it was evident that several plants had been pruned, using a method adopted by experienced cultivators to maximise growth of a flowering top material.”

The court heard that if all plants had matured there would have been a crop weighing some 30kgs, which would have amounted to street deals in excess of £86,000.

In interview Seefeldt said he had flown from Germany to Bristol to visit a friend and had been taken to London for two weeks before returning to Bristol for two weeks and the address in Kingswood, where he was told to water plants and not to leave.

Jennifer Tallentire, defending, said “We say the defendant was a gardener. He is a German citizen having been born in Vietnam and adopted in Eastern Europe.

“He has a partner and a three-year-old daughter in Germany and he was tempted by the money he was offered if he involved himself in this enterprise.

“I know your Honour will bear in mind the effect of prison in a foreign country for him and his family.”