A Dublin court has heard that 2 economic migrants who answered a gardening job advertisement were tricked into living in primitive and horrendous conditions in a cannabis growing operation.

Both men have been jailed for 2 years. 

The two both came from different  farming families in China and had answered ads in a Chinese newspaper offering jobs as flower growers here.

However they were forced to live in an industrial lock-up in close proximity to chemicals with high levels of humidity and noise created by the air conditioning system installed to grow the plants.

30-year-old Xiabin Huang and Yong Chen aged 35 both of no fixed abode pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the cultivation of cannabis plants at Millennium Business Park, Cappagh Road in Ballycoolin on March 7th this year. 

The 900 plants discovered at the industrial unit had an estimated total marked value of around €800,000. 

One of the men was never paid the money he was promised for his work.

Judge Martin Nolan said the men has carried out a 'crime of desperation' and imposed sentences of 2 years on both men.

"Horrendous" living conditions

Garda Colm Grogan told Dean Kelly BL, defending Huang, that the men shared a mattress on the floor and had only a hand basin to wash themselves.

He described their living conditions as "horrendous".  

The unit had been fitted out with florescent lights, fertilisers and extractor fans to grow the plants.

On one occasion when Huang left the unit to meet with his wife the owners of the operation threatened him and his wife and Garda Grogan said this was a serious threat.

Feargal Kavanagh SC, defending Chen, said that money lenders in China had lent his client money to come to Ireland and that since this offence they have taken the home of his family.

He said his client stupidly believed he could make a lot of money by taking care of plants and that he only realised it was a big cannabis operation when he arrived here.

His client felt sorry for his crime and aggrieved at ever taking the job offer because it turned out to be a "complete disaster".