Published: Wednesday, 2nd July, 2008 12:00pm

'Murder' mystery: clue in picture

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A VIETNAMESE man at the centre of a cannabis farm ‘murder' mystery, which Slough people were asked to help solve, has been jailed for five years and will be deported on his release.

Police discovered a pool of blood but no body when they raided a house in North Park, Iver, that was being used to grow hundreds of cannabis plants in May last year.

Officers also discovered a photo of a Vietnamese family during their search which they distributed to people across Slough in a bid to trace its owner as part of a murder investigation, which is still on-going.

The sequel to the gruesome find was played out at Reading Crown Court on Thursday last week when Uy Van Nguyen was found guilty of conspiracy to cultivate cannabis.

Nguyen originally came into the country on a six-month visa, which he overstayed illegally but was arrested in his car in August 2007 during a spot police check.

When he was sentence, the court also made an order for his deportation to Vietnam once he has completed half his sentence. He has already served nine months so it is likely he will be deported in 15 months.

Speaking about the picture, which is also on display at UK prisons that house Vietnamese nationals to trace its owner, DS Nick Burleigh from Major Crime, said: "It is still an open inquiry. We want to trace whoever the victim is whether they are alive or not. The photograph could belong to whoever was attacked in the house.

"The owner of the picture could be sitting in prison now. As far as this investigation is concerned it does put us in a stronger position to carry on with our murder inquiry having dealt with the other criminal offences."

He added: "I'm very pleased with the five-year sentence. It sends a strong message to other cannabis farmers that we won't tolerate it. We will send people back to their country of origin once they have finished their sentence."