A 32-year old Vietnamese woman has pleaded guilty to her role in the operation of a grow house at a luxury lakeside home involving drugs having an estimated street value of close to €1 million.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Thuy Thi Nguyen pleaded guilty to cultivating without a licence cannabis plants at Tinarana House on May 31st last contrary to Section 17 of the Mis-use of Drugs Act.
When Ms Nguyen was first cautioned and charged with the offence last June, she replied: ‘I feel upset and scared because they forced me to do it.’
Solicitor for Ms Thi Nyugen, John Casey has already told the district court that there may be an element of people trafficking in the case.
Mr Casey said that the estimated value of the drugs by the State is close to €1 million.
In the case, Ms Thi Nguyen was found by Gardaí at an industrial-sized cannabis grow house at the Victorian mansion, Tinarana House on the shores of Lough Derg near Killaloe in east Clare in May.
More than 500 cannabis plants at various growth stages were found at the 16-bedroomed property on May 31st last.
Ms Thi Nguyen has been remanded in custody at the female unit of Limerick prison since her first appearance in court on June 2nd.
The operation which resulted in the arrest of Ms Thi Nguyen and the discovery of the drugs involved members of the Clare Divisional Drugs Unit, local uniform and plainclothes Gardaí, the Western Region Armed Support Unit and the Cork Garda Dog Unit including the unit’s dog, Laser.
Counsel for Ms Thi Nguyen, Mark Nicholas SC said today that his client “has had a difficult life”.
Judge Gerald Keys told the court that Ms Thi Nguyen deserves priority as she is in custody and further remanded her in custody for sentence at Ennis Circuit Court next Tuesday.
