A property in the UK that was converted into an illegal cannabis farm run by Roman Le. Photos courtesy of the NCA

By Paul Kennedy

A Vietnamese-born drugs boss who masterminded a multi-million-dollar cannabis empire that spanned across three counties in England has been convicted by a court in the UK.

Roman Le, who changed his name by deed poll after he became a naturalised British citizen, was head of an organised crime gang that ran a network of cannabis farms across the Midlands, North West and north Lincolnshire.

Last week he was found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA), the UK's leading law enforcement agency, responsible for tackling serious and organised crime. 

Roman Le photographed in police custody following his arrest.

Le, 37, was convicted of operating at least eight cannabis farms in residential and commercial properties, as well as a storage facility housing both equipment and harvested cannabis.

He also exploited Vietnamese migrants to work for him, often living in appalling conditions among the plants they were forced to care for.

When arrested, Le owned a Bentley Continental car worth more than US$300,000, almost VNĐ8 billion, and lived in a luxury apartment in the centre of Birmingham.

NCA Branch Commander Kevin Broadhead said after the conviction: “Roman Le claimed he was a legitimate property developer, but in actual fact he fronted an organised crime gang capable of producing millions of pounds worth of cannabis.”

The court heard that Le sourced the buildings by posing as a property developer and buying or renting them. In some cases, scaffolding was put up around the buildings, making it look like construction work was taking place, to disguise the real use. 

A derelict nightclub in Coventry, UK, which was owned by Le and used to grow cannabis.

Among them were a disused nightclub in Coventry, a former pub in Birmingham and an old hotel in Lancashire. Overall, the farms were capable of producing millions of dollars’ worth of cannabis. 

Le worked with co-defendants Yihao Feng, aged 29, from Manchester but born in China, and Afghani native David Qayumi, aged 36, from Birmingham, to source and operate the properties.

Qayumi posed as a businessman, working with Le to buy, rent or sub-let the properties, while Feng acted as an ‘operations manager’ for the group, making sure the facilities continued running and that what was happening inside was kept a secret. 

Many of the farms were staffed by Vietnamese or Albanian illegal migrants, some of whom were likely being exploited because of their immigration status.

NCA investigators placed members of the gang under surveillance, watching as they visited some of the premises in question. On one occasion, officers witnessed Le park his Bentley Continental outside the former Big Bamboo nightclub in Coventry, heading inside. 

National Crime Agency officers use cutting equipment to gain entry into one of the cannabis farms run by Roman Le.

The site was later raided by the NCA and West Midlands Police, who found 1,500 cannabis plants worth more than £1 million (over VNĐ35 billion) spread across three floors.

Feng was arrested in September, 2020, after he was stopped by police in his luxury Maserati car. He had just visited the old Wellington Hotel in Clayton-le-Moors. It was raided the next day and found to contain a cannabis farm with more than 300 plants.

The same day Feng was arrested, officers raided the old Queen’s Head public house on Farm Street in Hockley, Birmingham, arresting six Albanian nationals who were operating the farm and seizing more than 300 plants. NCA investigators later found the pub and surrounding land had been sold to a company controlled by Le.

Officers also raided a lock-up storage unit in Aston, Birmingham, which had been leased by Qayumi. They found equipment used to grow cannabis, including lighting units, carbon filters, nutrients, plant pots and grow tents. They also found a number of empty suitcases that had been used to transport cannabis, and a money counting machine. All three men had previously been observed visiting the site by NCA surveillance teams.

Le was arrested at his home, an apartment on Essex Street in Birmingham that he shared with his girlfriend, Yihao Feng’s sister, on November 4, 2020.

Both Feng and Qayumi pleaded guilty to conspiring to produce cannabis, but Le denied the charge, claiming he was a legitimate businessman who had no knowledge that the properties he had interests in were being used to grow cannabis.

Following an eight-day trial at Birmingham Crown Court, on June 5 he was found guilty. Le was remanded in custody, and all three men will be sentenced on July 4.

NCA Branch Commander Kevin Broadhead added: “While he and his co-conspirators oversaw these operations, buying and renting properties on behalf of the growers and reaping the profits, the actual people put to work in them were often exploited migrants who had been smuggled into the UK.

“Working with policing partners, we were able to prove these men were involved in a sophisticated criminal enterprise.” 

The NCA investigation was supported by West Midlands Police, Lancashire Police and Humberside Police. VNS