Man jailed for £370,000 cannabis cultivation

A man has been jailed after police found a major cannabis cultivation with a potential street value of more than £370,000 in a house in Aberdeenshire.

The discovery was made in Inverurie's Birch Drive in February last year.

Vo Quang, 43, was detained, and later admitted producing cannabis.

At Aberdeen Sheriff Court, he was jailed for 17 months.

Fiscal depute Brian Young, for the Crown, said that police had received intelligence about the production of cannabis on 17 February 2025.

The next day, officers attended and noted a strong smell of the drug.

They forced entry, and found a "large-scale" cultivation on the upper floor and in the loft, where Quang was also found.

A total of 366 mature plants and 128 immature plants were found.

The maximum potential street value of the mature plants was said to be up to more than £269,000, with the immature plants having a potential value of up to more than £103,000.

Defence solicitor John Hardie said Quang had been exploited and was at the lowest level of the operation, describing him as a "labourer".

Sheriff William Summers told the first offender that the "gravity" of the crime meant there was no alternative to a custodial sentence.

He said it would have been two years but for the guilty plea, and reduced it to 17 months, also taking account of time he had also spent in custody.