Sixteen in court after drugs find in mansion

Sixteen Vietnamese nationals appeared in court today charged in connection with a series of Walsall drug factories, including one inside a £1 million mansion.

The defendants, which include 11 men and five women, were at Walsall Magistrates Court today, where a district judge was due to commit their case to Wolverhampton Crown Court.

The defendants, of no fixed address, were: Hung Nguyen, aged 47, Vu Hoang, 24, Hung Nguyen, 20, Trung Pham, 35, Tu Dang, 34, Tiem Dinh, 33, Huong Hoang, 36, Van Hoang, 33, Long Hoang, 20, Mai Nguyen, 19, Son Nguyen, 36, Ngoc Pham, 22, Tam Pham, 42, Toan Tran, 18, Hoai Tran, 26 and a 15-year-old youth who cannot be named.

They are charged with conspiracy to cultivate cannabis. More than 50 officers were involved in eight raids on Tuesday, where drugs with a street value of £500,000 were found across Caldmore, Park Hall and Little Aston, on the Staffordshire border.

One of the cannabis factories was discovered at a rented, luxurious seven-bedroom house in exclusive Roman Road, Little Aston, a street known as millionaire's row due to its many well-heeled residents.