Wanted man allegedly caught fleeing wildfire with trucks full of cannabis
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A wanted man was caught fleeing a wildfire with trucks allegedly full of cannabis in Australia. Tien Tran, 36, had been on the run since DNA allegedly linked him to a 3000-plant cannabis crop discovered by police in South Australia in 2021. His arrest with Anh Mai, 37, in a truck on Christmas Eve led police to find cannabis growing supplies, keys to another truck and keys to an alleged growhouse near Moyston, Victoria, police claim.
![[Wanted man caught fleeing wildfire with truckload full of drugs The cannabis haul was being moved from growhouses in this Moyston compound, police allege. Picture: 7NEWS.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234777414-94ba.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Nearby they discovered two abandoned trucks with 203 mature cannabis plants, weighing more than 250kg, news.com.au reported. They found a ‘sophisticated hydroponic system’ at the alleged growhouse. Police had been called after a resident saw multiple trucks leave the Moyston property.
![[Smoke billows from a blaze in Grampians National Park, Victoria, Australia in this undated handout photo released on December 28, 2024. AAP/Supplied State Control Centre via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. NEW ZEALAND OUT. AUSTRALIA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234433151-44d6.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Thousands of people had been ordered to evacuate an ‘uncontrollable’ bushfire, started by lightning, that burnt through 760 square kilometres around Grampians National Park. Mr Tran, who works as a gardener and landscaper, claims he was driving the truck at his friend’s request.
All three had been rented in Melbourne on the same day, by Mr Tran, Mr Mai, and a third man, police said. Mr Tran denies the charge of being involved in cultivating cannabis crops. His lawyer, Richard Revill, told the court: ‘He’s the gofer, he’s the deliveryman, he’s the handyman — its how he supports himself.
‘The evidence is indicative of a low level participant; a foot soldier.’. Mr Tran was denied bail and will appear back in court along with Mr Mai in April. Magistrate Costas Kilias told Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Thursday: ‘These charges are too serious for bail to be granted, putting it another way I’m not satisfied he has established exceptional circumstances,.
