Three years jail for workers involved in $100m Cannabis crop
Two men charged over their role in growing cannabis plants on a property at Isis have each been sentenced to three years in jail.
Duy Khanh Bui, 30, and Simon Tran, 51, appeared together in the Bundaberg District Court on Thursday, charged with one count each of producing a dangerous drug, cannabis.
They both pleaded guilty.
Detectives from the Drug and Serious Crime Group, Bundaberg and Childers police raided the property at Isis Central, 400 kilometres north of Brisbane, in October 2022.
Crown prosecutor Ryan Minuti on Thursday told the court the two men had been recruited with 12 others from across Australia for farm work.
When the workers arrived at the Isis Central property in mid-2022, the land had been cleared, except for a house.
The two men and others repaired the house and constructed 51 greenhouses, 80 metres in length.
Weeks later, 3,000 cannabis plants arrived that workers used to cultivate the crop, which consisted of 43,246 potted cannabis plants weighing 14,339 kilograms.
Mr Minuti said police also found 16kg of green plant matter that included cannabis seedlings.
He told the court at full maturation, the crop could have an estimated value of more than $100 million.
In sentencing, Judge Tony Moynihan KC took into account that the men were paid a wage of $3,000 a month but would not be receiving any profit from the crop.
He said Bui was not an Australian citizen and was liable to be deported, while Tran had a lengthy criminal history.
Convictions were recorded for both men, with sentences of three years imprisonment given with time served of 330 days.
Boi will be eligible for parole in October 2023, while Tran will be eligible for parole in December 2023.
