Vietnamese man on trial in $24m a year Northland cannabis operation

Oai Duc Truong is on trial in the Whangārei District Court on charges relating to cannabis cultivation and supply. Photo / Shannon Pitman

A man described by the Crown as “silent and savvy” has gone on trial for his alleged role in one of the largest cannabis operations in Northland after more than 6000 plants and 100 pounds of cannabis heads were seized.

Vietnamese National Oai Dac Truong is on trial in the Whangārei District Court before Judge John McDonald for three charges of cultivating cannabis, three charges of possession for supply, and one charge of perverting the course of justice.

Between November 2019 and July 2020, police seized 4065 plants and 47 pounds of cannabis head at a Te Kōpuru property; 2156 cannabis plants and 18 pounds of cannabis head at a Kerikeri plantation; and 231 plants and two ounces of cannabis head at an Auckland warehouse.

The sophisticated operation was estimated to turn over $24 million a year.

When police flew over the Te Kōpuru hothouse on Oturu Settlement Rd, four men were spotted running from the house.

Those four co-offenders have already been sentenced for their roles in the operation.

They were Aucklanders Minh Nhat Nguyen, 24, Nhat Quan Nguyen, 20, Chu Trong Thanh, 44, and 45-year-old Dang Gia Cu.

Some of the 4000 cannabis plants discovered by police growing in five glasshouses near Dargaville.

Five months later, police would arrest Truong in Avondale at one of two cannabis storage warehouses he rented and lived in with his family.

Days later, Truong and his wife would approach a witness Truong purchased gardening supplies from and ask him to sign a letter, the Crown said.

Crown lawyer Ally Tupuola said this showed the dishonest and corrupt nature of Truong, and it was only a matter of time before the truth would reveal itself.

“He is an astute businessman and savvy operator... This was a sophisticated commercial operation. Truong knew exactly what he was doing - he is a corrupt businessman and a silent cultivator, but an active one,” Tupuola said.

Truong’s lawyer David Reece said his client did not know the hothouses were being used to grow cannabis but thought they were being used to grow vegetables for the market.

The trial will focus on three growing locations - Oturu Settlement Rd, Te Kōpuru, Waimumu Rd, Massey, and Montrose Rd, Kerikeri, with the Crown expected to call 11 witnesses.

Police Sergeant Conan Brown gave evidence on Monday about the raid at Oturu Settlement Rd and said when the helicopter arrived on the scene, he observed men running from the hothouse, trying to hide and fleeing the address in a black 4x4 vehicle.

“Hovering above the hothouse in a helicopter at 60 feet, the smell of cannabis and the heat coming off the hothouse was overwhelming,” Brown said.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/Ngātiwai/Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked freelance in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.