A CANNABIS gardener who was caught with the largest ever single drugs seizure in St Neots has been jailed for two years. Chien Thang Do, 31, filled almost every room in a house in Berkley Street, Eynesbury, with cannabis plants. Only the kitchen was fre

A CANNABIS 'gardener' who was caught with the largest ever single drugs seizure in St Neots has been jailed for two years.

Chien Thang Do, 31, filled almost every room in a house in Berkley Street, Eynesbury, with cannabis plants. Only the kitchen was free from the drug. Do was eventually caught in possession of £45,000 worth of cannabis after police raided the property in December.

At Peterborough Crown Court, Do admitted cultivating cannabis plants and once he has served his sentence will be deported to Vietnam.

Cambridgeshire Police were tipped off about Do's cannabis growing operation by neighbouring residents. When they raided the property in December, officers found Do watering his cannabis plants.

After searching every room in the house, the police were said to have been taken aback by the scale of the operation. It took officers eight hours to clear the house of the 450 plants, which were in various stages of growth, that were said to have filled the property. They also had to clear all the lighting and other equipment, worth in the region of £10,000, used to grow the plants.

Pc Neil English, who led a team of 20 officers during the investigation, said: "This was an extremely successful operation and the largest single drugs seizure by officers in the history of St Neots policing.

"Mr Do was arrested at the time of the raid and his role is best described as the 'gardener'. He tended to the plants to harvest them for future sale."

The police suspect the criminals who ran the operation from the detached property in Eynesbury had been planning a long-term enterprise as there was evidence of products ready for use in future crops.

Pc English added: "This raid is one of many which have been carried out by both the Eynesbury Neighbourhood team as well as the St Neots team. Recent intelligence tells us that it is getting harder to buy drugs in the St Neots area. This particular operation would have caused a serious amount disruption to the drug suppliers and prevented a considerable amount of drugs reaching the St Neots area.

"I would urge members of the public to tell us of any suspicion, no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time, they may have about drug activity in their area."

INFORMATION: Anyone with information on drugs should contact Cambridgeshire Police on 0845 4564564 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.