Groom grew marijuana to pay for wedding

Instead of walking down the aisle, Quang Huynh, 36, will spend two-and-a-half years in prison after admitting he cultivated cannabis with the intent of supplying it as a drug.

He also pleaded guilty on Friday, December 8, to stealing electricity after the cops who raided his home discovered he was bypassing the meter to run his sophisticated operation.

He also had £1,200 worth of the drugs hidden in his fridge when officers searched the kitchen.

Huynh admitted he was hoping to sell the drug for profit so he could raise the money to get married.

David Povall, prosecuting, told Guildford Crown Court that officers executed a warrant on September 28 this year and forced their way into the flat.

Police found 160 plants at seedling stage and 189 fully- matured cannabis plants.

The court heard that Huynh was arrested and made full admissions to police that he was growing the drug.

He told them that with no source of legitimate income he had bought the equipment with savings.

Alan Robertshaw, defending, told the court that Huynh was originally from Vietnam and worked on the fishing boats when he was 10 years old, but had been in this country for a long time.

He said he was desperate to raise some money to pay for his wedding and to send some home to his aunt who had raised him.

He said: "It was a foolish 'get-rich-quick' scheme.

"He is a little naive but the motivation was to make a better life for him and his fiance."

Jailing Huynh, Recorder Edward Burgess told him: "You had 350 cannabis plants that you had cultivated by use of a fairly sophisticated hydroponics system that cost you £5,000 to set up.

"Frankly, I am cynical as to where that money came from and what you intended to do with the money from the cannabis you were growing."