TWO illegal immigrants who acted as gardeners at a huge cannabis factory have been jailed and face deportation.

The factory on the outskirts of Stourport was one of the biggest cannabis growing operations ever discovered in the West Mercia Police force area, producing a yield worth between £1.15 million and £2.3 million per year.

Quan Vo, aged 22, and Quang Nguyen, 34, both of no fixed address, were each sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison when they appeared at Worcester Crown Court on Monday.

They had admitted being concerned in the production of cannabis at an earlier hearing.

Deportation notices were also served upon them by the court which means they will be forced to leave the country on completion of their sentences.

Vo and Nguyen were arrested after more than 1,400 cannabis plants were discovered at a unit off Barracks Road on the Sandy Lane Industrial estate in the early hours of February 7.

Police went there after a member of the public reported suspicious activity and it was initially thought there was a fuel theft in progress.

But after finding people at the scene officers entered a unit and found the cannabis along with a sophisticated growing operation.

Following sentencing Detective Inspector Carl Moore said: “This was a massive cannabis factory, one of the biggest we have ever seen.

“An expert estimated that it would have been producing a yield worth between £1.15 million and £2.3 million per year so that gives some indication of the scale of this criminal enterprise.

“We are grateful to the member of the public whose vigilance led us to the scene in the first place but the officers who attended also deserve praise. After finding no sign of a fuel theft they continued to look around and then literally followed their noses to the cannabis.

“Vo and Nguyen were near the bottom of the production chain, their job was simply to tend the crop. But when you consider their lowly position and the sentences they have received it illustrates just how seriously the courts view this kind of illegal growing operation.

“The organised supply of controlled drugs is one of the known elements of serious criminality and a driver for other types of acquisitive crime. It causes serious harm to communities.

“This case illustrates that drugs are a priority for West Mercia Police and we will take positive action against anyone involved in their production, use and supply.”

Another 11 men and a woman who were also arrested in connection with the discovery of the cannabis factory remain on police bail.