Illegal immigrant who came to UK on small boat jailed over Scottish drug ring

An illegal immigrant who came to the UK on a small boat was jailed today after being caught running a £150,000 Scottish drug farm.

Hoi Nguyen left his family in Vietnam to move to Great Britain in the hope of making money.

His lawyer told Paisley Sheriff Court today, Monday, January 5, 2026, that he had "come to the United Kingdom from Vietnam via a small boat".

After spending time in England he headed north to Scotland.

And he has now been jailed and will be deported after being caught running a cannabis cultivation in Paisley, Renfrewshire.

Nguyen, 42, pleaded guilty previously and returned to the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court today to be sentenced.

He had admitted producing a controlled drug at a flat in Byres Crescent, Paisley, on January 13, 2025, in breach of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Defence solicitor Tony Callahan explained: "He's a 42-year-old man who came to the United Kingdom from Vietnam via a small boat in 2021.

"He has a partner and three children, aged 18, 13, and 12, and he came here for financial reasons - to send money back home.

"He was initially residing in Manchester and working. Not legally, but he was certainly not involved in any criminal enterprise.

"He was offered a job in a nail bar and moved to Paisley in 2024."

The court heard messages on his phone revealed he had been involved in 4 other cultivations in England.

Mr Callahan added: "He fully accepts that a custodial sentence is inevitable.

"He will be deported after his custodial sentence. He is anxious to return to Vietnam as soon as he can and return to his family."

Sheriff Eoin McGinty jailed Nguyen for 25 months, backdated to last January, when he was first remanded in custody.

As he did so, he said: "This was a significant cultivation.

"Messages found on your phone showed you were fully in control of that operation.

"The only appropriate sentence is one of imprisonment."

The sentence was reduced from two-and-a-half years as Nguyen had admitted his guilt over the case at a pre-trial hearing.

He was also charged with breaking the Misuse. of Drugs Act 1971 by being involved in drug dealing and the Electricity Act 1989 by bypassing electricity meters at the property in question.

But his not guilty pleas were accepted by prosecutors when he admitted producing the class B drug.