Cannabis grower jailed after late-night gang clashes and high-speed chases through Black Country
Police found a £95,000 cannabis farm as rival drug gangs caused mayhem during a night of violence.
As the drama unfolded at different locations in the Black Country, stunned householders phoned 999 at around 1.20am on November 21 last year after seeing two rival groups of men fighting outside a house in Haden Hill, in the Chapel Ash area of Wolverhampton.
Officers investigating the trouble later found 330 cannabis plants.
The disorder broke out after criminals burgled a cannabis factory set up in a house in the street.
Tinh Nguyen, 26, was arrested when officers rushed to that scene to break up the street brawl.
The defendant, who had been looking after the plants, tried to hide in a garden and was sniffed out by a police dog.
Nguyen, a Vietnamese national, admitted an offence of producing cannabis at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
While this was happening, two high-speed police pursuits took place.
One ended with a car crashing in Rowley Regis after speeding down the wrong side of a one-way system and the other finished with a stinger being deployed and three suspects fleeing on foot before being caught by the West Midlands Police helicopter.
Nguyen, of Aston Lane, Perry Barr, Birmingham, was jailed for 12 months for producing a controlled Class B drug. Judge Michael Chambers QC ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the plants and the equipment.
At the time of the incident a car with a boot stuffed full of cannabis plants and cloned number plates was spotted eight miles away on Junction 2 of the M5 in Oldbury. And a VW Golf thought to have fled the scene in Wolverhampton was found four miles away from the cannabis farm on the M54.
As the cars attempted to flee one overturned after crashing into traffic lights in Rowley Regis and the other had its tyres deflated stung by officers near the M6 in Great Barr.
West Midlands Police said at the time: "After failing to stop for officers, the car [spotted on the M5] was driven the wrong way down a one-way road before crashing into traffic lights in Archer Way, Rowley Regis just after 1.30am."
"Another car which fled the scene was found on the M54, between junctions 2 and 3. Our traffic officers followed the VW Golf to Junction 7 of the M6 towards Scott Arms where we safely deflated its tyres after being driven the wrong way along a duel carriageway."
