Two Vietnamese women thought they were going to experience a country day trip when they drove to Wangaratta - then they realised they had stepped into a sophisticated cannabis grow house.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Nga Nguyen, 39, and Trang Nguyen, 26, were staying in Melbourne when they met Thanh Bui and he allegedly invited them to the Tone Road property on May 16.
What they did not realise at first was there was 83 kilograms of cannabis buds and leaves inside the house.
When police raided the house an hour later, the women were wearing gloves and masks and helping in the production process. They told police they were cleaning the messy house.
The bedrooms of the Wangaratta house were used for a full hydroponic setup, including industrial lights hanging from the ceiling and cannabis growing in pots.
Nga Nguyen and Trang Nguyen appeared in Wangaratta Magistrates Court on Thursday to plead guilty to cultivating cannabis and were sentenced to 39 days in jail each, which they have both already served on remand.
Bui also appeared in court via video link and his case was adjourned for a committal hearing in December.
MORE NEWS FROM COURT:
Trang Nguyen has been living in Australia for six years on a student visa and her barrister Patrick Casey said she has been "duped".
She was released on bail 39 days after her arrest.
"She's a serious individual, a bit naive, who's got seriously caught up," Mr Patrick said.
"They stepped over a line they shouldn't have, but they were in a very awkward situation."
Nga Nguyen was only meant to be in Australia for a month before returning home to her husband and son in Vietnam, but has remained in custody for four months since her arrest.
She will now be transferred to an immigration detention centre for up to three months before being deported.
Magistrate Ian Watkins accepted the women played a limited role in the cannabis operation, but jail was an appropriate sentence.
"It's an example of a serious and prevalent offence," he said.
"You both stepped over the line and involved yourselves in the harvesting of the cannabis.
"You may have been duped into travelling to Wangaratta, but once in Wangaratta you were aware of what you were doing."