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Two men who cultivated cannabis plants in a north Canberra property as part of an extensive grow house network uncovered across the ACT last year have avoided time behind bars. Van Cho Hoang, 51, and Viet Hong Ngo, 43, were among six people arrested as part of ACT Policing's Operation Armscote in July. Police at the time said more than $6 million worth of cannabis had been pulled off the streets when they seized more than 900 plants from houses across the territory. Rental properties were raided in Kaleen, Calwell, Downer, Harrison, Hackett, Macgregor, Nicholls and Weetangera. Hoang and Ngo each pleaded guilty to one charge of cultivating a trafficable quantity of cannabis in relation to 44 plants found at the Harrison house in October. The pair was sentenced with the help of a Vietnamese interpreter in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday. The court was told prosecutors had dropped one charge each against the men related to participating in a criminal group. Ngo's defence lawyer Stephen Russell told the court his client had struggled with cannabis use since about 2005 and took the drug partly as a way to manage pain from rheumatism and arthritis. Mr Russell said his client had hopefully realised his addiction was the root cause of his offending and he now had a lot of motivation to avoid drugs and time in prison. He asked that any punishment allow him to continue his rehabilitation. Hoang's defence lawyer James Lawton said his client showed symptoms he was dependent on cannabis and had become involved in the operation to help pay off a debt. He said his client had strong family support where he lived in Sydney and had taken steps to address gambling and drug habits. Both lawyers made separate suggestions a suspended prison sentence would be appropriate as each of their client's involvement in the wider drug operation was at the lower end of the spectrum. But the prosecution argued the grow house the men were linked to was a sophisticated hydroponic setup and not a haphazard operation. Police had also seized some drug-related equipment, cash and receipts linked to the men which indicated a level of planning, the court was told. In sentencing the pair, Magistrate Bernadette Boss noted the level of each man's role but said illegal drugs could negatively impact every member of the community. "This is an issue of protection of the community. Drugs bring misery to many in our society." She sentenced both of the men to 10 months' imprisonment, to be fully suspended upon them each entering two-year good behaviour bonds. Further raids have brought the total number of plants seized as part of Operation Armscote to 1226, with an estimated street value of more than $7 million, police said.

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