A 45-year-old restaurant worker stopped near Lisnaskea with £43,000 worth of cannabis and £15,000 worth of drug growing equipment has been refused bail.

Xuan Van Nguyen appeared at Fermanagh Court by video link from Maghaberry Prison charged with illegally cultivating cannabis plants.

The Vietnamese national is also accused of unlawful possession of cannabis and having it with the intention of supplying it to another person.

Objecting to him being released on bail, a detective sergeant told the court that on Wednesday, October 22, police were operating a vehicle check point on the Moorlough Road, Lisnaskea. Around 8.25pm they stopped a Fermanagh registered white Ford Transit van. The officers detected what they believed to be the smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle. As a result the van was searched. A large quantity of cannabis plants and cultivating equipment was discovered in the rear of the vehicle.

The detective told the court Nguyen and the two other men in the van were arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis and possession of the drug with intent to supply it.

“They were interviewed and all three gave varying accounts in relation to how they were in the vehicle, how they knew each other and how they came to be in Fermanagh,” the detective told the court.

He said all three denied the offences.

“The driver of the vehicle admitted that he was asked to move the items by a Chinese man,” the officer added.

District Judge Nigel Broderick asked how long Nguyen, who was a passenger in the vehicle, had been in Northern Ireland.

The detective told him Nguyen had been in Northern Ireland for approximately three weeks prior to this.

He said the cannabis had an approximate value of £43,000 and “the electrical equipment is part of a drugs cultivation factory” and was valued at £15,000.

The detective told the court police were objecting to bail on the grounds that if released Nguyen would not turn up for his trial and would commit further offences.

He accepted that Nguyen had been offered an address by a Mr. Lin on the Greenville Road in Belfast.

A defence lawyer said Nguyen had worked for Mr. Lin at the The Golden Bowl Chinese take-away on the Lisburn Road in Belfast and that job is still open to him.

He said Nguyen’s family was prepared to lodge a cash surety of £5,000 in court to secure his release.

He asked the detective if this would allay police fears that Nguyen would not turn up for his trial.

“No, Your Worship,” the officer replied.

The lawyer said Nguyen was prepared to abide by any conditions the court would impose including surrendering his passport, electronic tagging and reporting daily to the police.

“I accept that on the factual circumstances of his arrest that there is a prima facie case against him but quite clearly if he is refused bail he is unlikely to face trial for a considerable period of time,” the lawyer stated.

“I accept very much Your Worship that this is a borderline case,” he added.

“His wife and children are currently in London and on my instructions he came to Northern Ireland to seek employment and provide for his family,” said the lawyer.

District Judge Nigel Broderick said: “These are serious charges involving a substantial amount of drugs. He was only in the jurisdiction for three weeks when he became involved in this incident.

“I would be concerned that if he was admitted to bail there would be a real risk he would not turn up for his trial and there would be a risk of further offending. For those two reasons I’m going to refuse bail.” He remanded Nguyen and his two co-accused in continuing custody to appear again at Fermanagh Court by video link on December 15, for a target date for the results of forensic, drug and phone analysis.