Published Thursday, 02 April 2009
Prosecutors said police uncovered two operations at houses in Londonderry and another in Limavady during a six-month investigation.
Photographs from one location showed ventilation and improvised electrical systems had been set up, allegedly to assist the growth of the plants.
A Crown lawyer said mothballs were also scattered around to block out the smell and heavy-duty tape was used to black out windows.
Details emerged as Chinese man Wu Jin Wu was refused bail due to a risk of flight if released.
Wu, 36, of Spencer Road, Derry, faces charges of cultivating cannabis and possession of Class C drugs with intent to supply.
He was arrested when police discovered three people hiding in a house in the Templeard area of the city in January.
Prosecuting counsel Sheena Mahaffey said a notebook found there led officers to search a house on Columba Terrace, Derry where a large number of plants were discovered.
Sophisticated cannabis farms were located in six bedrooms, with 411 maturing and 313 mature plants worth an estimated £387,000, she told the court.
A finger print discovered on a tray also connected Wu to an address in Limavady where he had been arrested the previous June, it was alleged.
Defence counsel Charles McCreanor argued the finger print evidence against the accused was limited.
The court was told that a Belfast-based chef was prepared to lodge £10,000 in cash to secure Wu's release.
But Mr Justice McLaughlin refused bail after assessing the risk of him leaving the jurisdiction as being high.