A Vietnamese man lured to a property to care for a drug crop was partaking in something akin to modern day slavery, a court has heard.

With grey hair, a green bomber jacket donned and two prison guards at either side, Khac Thanh Nguyen stood to be sentenced in Bathurst District Court on September 15, 2025 for knowingly partaking in the cultivation of cannabis by enhanced indoor means.

The 53-year-old had been promised a weekly payment of $500 in exchange for him to be the resident gardener of a cannabis crop at a property along Oakey Forest Road in Marrangaroo.

Nguyen had hoped to send his pay cheque back to his wife and child in Vietnam, who had been experiencing hardship.

"He was in a very vulnerable position after he had arrived in Australia without any English, connection or suppor

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