TWO Vietnamese nationals have been released from jail after their role in running a cannabis farm above a café in Colchester High Street.

A shocked café owner discovered the huge factory manufacturing the Class B drug when investigating a leak in his premises, Poppins, in February.

The businessman contacted the police after finding two men in the flat along with 500 cannabis plants which were being grown in six rooms over three floors, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

The windows in the rooms had been blacked out and there were heaters and lamps in the rooms, said Matthew Bagnall, prosecuting.

Gazette: Disposal - the drug paraphernalia is taken away Picture: NewsquestDisposal - the drug paraphernalia is taken away Picture: Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)

When police arrived at the premises shortly afterwards the two men were no longer there but they were located and arrested using CCTV.

Phong Nguyen, 22, and Tam Nguyen, 26, both of no fixed address, later admitted producing cannabis and were each jailed for 39 weeks.

But the court heard they had been in custody for 31 weeks and would therefore be eligible for immediate release.

The huge drugs bust gathered mass attention after police officers took a unique route of disposing the drug when they shredded it in plain view in the city centre.

Everything from large heat lamps and bulbs to lengthy cables were dumped in large boxes positioned on the pavement.

Gazette: Drugs - police officers guard the cannabis Picture: NewsquestDrugs - police officers guard the cannabis Picture: Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)

The extraordinary sight of hundreds of Class B drugs being shredded attracted intrigued shoppers, who swarmed the scene as a potent smell of cannabis filled the air.

Defence barrister Ed Carey said the defendants had been taken advantage of because they were asylum seekers and didn’t speak English.

A statement previously read to the court in June on behalf of Phong stated he was told he could access the UK illegally at a cost of £5,000.

The court heard he was later approached by an individual in London and offered £300 a month to water the plants at the High Street cannabis factory.

Sentencing the men Recorder Gabrielle Posner said she accepted they were gardeners for the cannabis crop.