Date Published: 10-May-2013
Two Asian men have appeared in court for sentence in connection with the discovery of cannabis "grow houses" in Tuam and Loughrea last year.
They appeared before Galway Circuit court.
Vietnamese national, 48 year old Hai Fam pleaded guilty before Galway Circuit Court to the possession and cultivation of 189 cannabis plants worth €151,000 at a dormer bungalow at Raheen Oughter, Loughrea on August 28 last year.
In a separate case, Malaysian national, 34 year old Lim Chun Wan, pleaded guilty to the cultivation of 360 cannabis plants worth €288,000 at another rurally located house at Riverview, Corbally, Tuam on June 2 last year.
Judge Rory McCabe said an appropriate sentence in Hai Fam’s case was five years.
He put a stay on the order until next Wednesday to give the accused time to prove his travel arrangements.
He sentenced Lim Chun Wan to seven years in prison, given the greater value of plants found in his care.
He directed the remainder of the men’s sentences be suspended on their leaving this jurisdiction and warned them that if they ever returned to Ireland they would serve the balance of their sentence.
