A lengthy stay in jail and deportation is on the cards for the Vietnamese man who ran a sophisticated cannabis grow house in Wangaratta, after he pleaded guilty in court.
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Thanh Bui has been in custody since May 16 when police raided the house on Tone Road, which had a total of 83 kilograms of cannabis buds and leaves inside.
He was arrested alongside two Vietnamese women he met in Melbourne - Nga Nguyen, 39, and Trang Nguyen, 26 - who served a 39-day jail sentence for their role in working for Bui in Wangaratta.
At their plea hearing in September, prosecutors said the bedrooms of the house were used for a full hydroponic setup, including industrial lights hanging from the ceiling and cannabis growing in pots.
The women claimed Bui had "duped" them into coming to Wangaratta for a day out in the country, before he put them to work in the grow house.
Bui pleaded guilty on Thursday to the charge of cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis, which carried a maximum sentence of 25 years in jail.
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He needed a Vietnamese interpreter to follow proceedings in Wangaratta Magistrates Court before telling magistrate Peter Dunn what was interpreted as "I plead guilty".
Mr Dunn committed him to have his case heard in the County Court and the case was adjourned to the circuit starting in January.
Bui did not apply for bail.
Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Stuart Pritchard said Bui did not have a criminal history in Australia until October 8 last year, when he was found in possession of drugs in a car stopped by police on Spencer Street in Melbourne.
He had 15 grams of cannabis in a supermarket plastic bag in his pocket and one gram of methamphetamine in his underwear.
Mr Dunn placed him on a 12-month good behaviour bond for the possession charges.
Bui's defence barrister William Barker said his client has a child in Australia and was separated from his wife.
He is likely to be deported back to Vietnam once he finishes his eventual jail sentence.
"He is obviously someone who, at that point in time, had a habit that was quite dangerous," Mr Barker said.
"He is not getting off the hook, probably for the remainder of time he spends in this country."
