BIRMINGHAM, UK — Eight members of two organised crime groups have been sentenced to a combined total of almost 80 years in prison after separate National Crime Agency (NCA) investigations uncovered large-scale cannabis farms across England that exploited vulnerable migrants as forced labour.
The ringleaders of both gangs were based in Birmingham and ran operations stretching across the Midlands, London, and the North of England. Many of their cannabis farms were staffed by migrants smuggled illegally into the UK, who were often trapped in debt bondage and subjected to poor living conditions.
Mai Van Nguyen’s Network
The first gang was led by Mai Van Nguyen, 35, of Beetham Tower, Birmingham, who previously served prison time for people smuggling. Nguyen worked alongside fellow Vietnamese nationals Doung Dinh, 38, of Birmingham, and Nghia Dinh Tran, 24, of Lewisham, London.
Taxi drivers Shamraiz Akhtar and Tasawar Hussain, both 50, from Birmingham, transported workers, cannabis plants, and equipment, while Amjad Nawaz, 44, from Birmingham, acted as a middleman, arranging properties and facilitating deals.
A Vietnamese victim, referred to in court as “Witness Z,” described being forced to work in multiple cannabis farms after arriving in the UK by boat in 2020. When police raided a farm in Hartlepool in June 2021, they found a note pleading, “take what you want, please don’t hit me, I do not know English,” alongside a diary describing violence and forced labour.
During the NCA investigation, cannabis farms tied to the network were discovered in Tipton, Coventry, Edgbaston, Derby, Hartlepool, East Ham in London, Gatley in Cheshire, and Hall Green in Birmingham.
Nguyen and Tran pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce cannabis. The other defendants denied involvement but were convicted of conspiracy to produce cannabis and trafficking for exploitation after a seven-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
Sentences handed down today (4 July) were:
- Mai Van Nguyen: 15 years
- Doung Dinh: 14 years
- Nghia Dinh Tran: 11.5 years
- Amjad Nawaz: 12 years
- Tasawar Hussain: 10.5 years
- Shamraiz Akhtar: 10 years
Roman Le’s Network
In a separate case, Roman Le, 37, from Birmingham, led a second gang that operated at least eight cannabis farms in residential and commercial properties across the Midlands and North of England.
Le posed as a property developer to secure buildings, sometimes disguising the farms with scaffolding to make them appear under renovation. He collaborated with Yihao Feng, 29, of Manchester, and David Qayumi, 36, of Birmingham. Feng acted as the group’s “operations manager,” ensuring secrecy and managing day-to-day operations, while Qayumi posed as a businessman involved in property deals.
The gang’s sites included a disused nightclub in Coventry, a former pub in Birmingham, and an old hotel in Lancashire, capable of producing millions of pounds worth of cannabis. Many farms were staffed by Vietnamese and Albanian migrants, often exploited due to their immigration status.
Today, the court sentenced Feng to three years and two months, and Qayumi to three years and four months. Le will be sentenced on 30 July.
Authorities Respond
NCA Branch Commander Kevin Broadhead said the sentencing marks the end of two significant operations targeting organised crime networks exploiting vulnerable migrants.
“These gangs were involved in drug production on an industrial scale, often exploiting migrants who had been smuggled or trafficked into the UK,” Broadhead said. “They just saw them as a way to make money.”
Lauren Doshi of the Crown Prosecution Service added: “These defendants make use of vulnerable people who are driven by poverty… They were forced to live in squalid conditions with threats made to their lives and those of their families.”
The NCA investigations were supported by multiple police forces, the Crown Prosecution Service, and Home Office Immigration Enforcement.
