A TEENAGER was jailed for five months just a day after being arrested in a huge cannabis factory in Cockfosters.

Cong Than Nguyen was arrested by police during a raid at a home in Belmont Close which turned up more than 300 cannabis plants worth more than £60,000.

Officers found the 19-year-old from Vietnam hiding in an airing cupboard when they went into the house on Thursday.

He was kept in police custody overnight and pleaded guilty to growing the drug at Hendon Magistrates Court on Friday, where he was jailed.

Jim Kellett the Drugs Intelligence officer for Barnet, said: “Barnet police are committed to closing these cannabis factories down, they are a source of income to organised crime and we are determined to end these profits.

“Also the heat generated by these factories and the cowboy electrical work that keeps them running means they are a serious fire risk. 

“A tragedy will occur if this activity continues unchecked. We would ask the public to support us with any information they may have.”