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Two men accused of being in Australia unlawfully are behind bars after police allegedly caught them cultivating cannabis in a "sophisticated" operation at a suburban Canberra house, which was targeted in raids that resulted in the seizure of 452 plants.
Authorities say it appears Thanh Tung Bui, 35, and Le Duong Tran, 34, were in the ACT purely to engage in organised criminal activity.
Police documents, tendered in court, show officers began investigating the eldest of the trio in May after becoming suspicious he was involved in cannabis cultivation.
The 64-year-old is said to have visited this address 31 times between October 14 and November 7, staying for as little as five minutes and as long as 14-and-a-half hours.
Once the Vietnamese man "abruptly ceased" travelling to this house, police claim, he started regularly attending an Amaroo address instead.
On Wednesday, investigators obtained warrants to search both properties.
The same sort of system was also discovered at the Macgregor house, where police claim to have found Mr Bui and Mr Tran "in the process of cultivating the cannabis plants".
Cannabis plants allegedly discovered at the Amaroo property. Picture: ACT Policing
He was the first to apply for bail in court on Thursday, when Legal Aid lawyer Edward Chen described the case against the 64-year-old as "especially weak".
There was no evidence Mr Nguyen was involved in the cultivation operation, he argued, labelling claims his client was part of a criminal syndicate "baseless".
Prosecutor Hannah Lee opposed bail, denying suggestions the case against Mr Nguyen was "impossibly weak".
She said the man appeared to have no legitimate source of income or ties to the ACT, arguing he would be motivated to flee the jurisdiction or commit offences on bail.
But Mr Theakston was not willing to release Mr Bui and Mr Tran, with the court hearing there was uncertainty about whether the pair had the right to be in Australia.
Mr Bui's lawyer, Georgia Le Couteur, said her client had instructed her he lived in Canberra with three children and a wife who was "gainfully employed as a nail technician".
Mr Theakston decided to adjourn the younger pair's bail applications until next Wednesday, saying he wanted to get some clarity around their immigration status and see any evidence of their ties to the ACT.
