Vietnamese nationals (left to right) Vien Phan Hoang, Bui Thi Huong, Bui Tuan and Dinh Van Tran were convicted of being involved in a drug dealing operation run from a house in Birmingham, UK, with bags of cannabis ready for sale hidden in the walls of the loft. Photos courtesy of the National Crime Agency

A Vietnamese man who played a significant role in ‘large-scale’ drug dealing has been jailed in the UK.

Vien Phan Hoang, 37, was sentenced to eight years in prison after police found 130 kilos of cannabis, 600 ecstasy tablets, two kilograms of ketamine and around VNĐ1 billion in cash at a property he was renting.

Three other people, all Vietnamese, have also been convicted following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

In January 2021, NCA officers followed a man carrying a large bag, later identified as 26-year-old Bui Tuan, to a house in Birmingham, UK.

When officers raided the house, occupants Dinh Van Tran, 26, and Vien’s wife Bui Thi Huong, 29, were seen attempting to hide packages of money in the garden.

Cannabis was found by NCA officers hidden in walls in the loft of the house.

Search teams found the cannabis vacuum packed in bags and ready for sale. More drugs were discovered hidden inside walls in the loft area of the property.

Some of the cash was found hidden in a bush, while other bundles had been thrown into a neighbouring garden.

NCA officers also discovered 600 ecstasy tablets and two kilos of a white crystalline powder later identified as ketamine.

The three men and a woman were later charged.

Hoang and Huong both pleaded guilty, but the others denied drug supply and money laundering offences.

In March 2023 Tuan and Tran, who was tried in his absence, were cleared of drug supply offences but found guilty of money laundering at Birmingham Crown Court.

They were both given six month suspended sentences and a warrant has been issued for Tran’s arrest.

On August 18, at the same court Hoang was sentenced to eight years in prison. The Judge said he played a significant role and was involved in large scale drug dealing with his motive being financial gain.

Vien Phan Hoang, 37, was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Huong received a six-month prison sentence suspended for six months.

NCA senior investigating officer Paul Boniface said: “This gang ran a stash house for a wider network of criminals – a location where drugs were stored before being pushed out to street dealers and sold, with cash moving in the opposite direction.

“Our investigation led to the seizure of drugs worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, profits from which would have fuelled further criminality and exploitation had we not taken action.

“The NCA and our partners are determined to do all we can to protect the public from serious and organised crime.” - VNS