THE alleged head of a cannabis growing operation worth in excess of £600,000 must remain in custody, a High Court judge ruled yesterday.
Luong Bui was refused bail amid claims he ran factories across Northern Ireland - including one discovered at a warehouse with living quarters for those growing plants.
Prosecutors also said the 40-year-old tried to dump three mobile phones in a toilet cistern as police entered his south Belfast home to arrest him last week.
Bui, originally from Vietnam but now a British citizen, faces charges of conspiracy to supply and produce Class B drugs, being concerned it their production, possessing criminal property, dishonestly using electricity, and assisting unlawful immigration.
The alleged offences were committed between April 1 and December 5, when police raided an industrial unit on the Glen Road in Comber, Co Down.
Crown lawyer Natalie Pinkerton said the warehouse had been divided into 10 rooms split over two floors.
Officers seized 1,200 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £600,000.
The court heard two other men were spotted on the premises, although one of them managed to escape.
The second man was detained and told police he had travelled with others in the back of a lorry from Vietnam to the UK.
He then claimed that he was flown from England to Northern Ireland before being driven to the warehouse.
Other, smaller-scale cannabis-growing facilities were uncovered at residential properties in the Four Winds area of Belfast and Coalisland, Co Tyrone.
Bui, of Lisburn Road in Belfast, is allegedly linked to the factories by CCTV surveillance evidence and fingerprints found on a tenancy agreement, the court heard.
Ms Pinkerton said he was located during searches carried out the same day at his home.
"When police entered that property he put three mobile phones down the toilet. Those phones are still being examined," she said.
Opposing bail, the prosecutor contended: "It's believed this applicant is the head of the organisation."
She added: "It is believed that this is part of a high-end organised crime gang operating both in the north and south (of Ireland).
Mr Justice Maguire was told Bui came to the UK at the age of 12, moving to Northern Ireland with his family four years ago.
Defence counsel argued that his client runs a horticultural supplies business which legitimately provides equipment such as plant pots, carbon filters and soil found at the Comber warehouse.
Denying bail, however, the judge cited the risk of re-offending.
