Three Vietnamese men were the key players in a conspiracy to grow more than £200,000 of cannabis in Bradford after setting up a string of factories across the UK, a court heard.

Duc Van Nguyen, 51, Minh Hein Do, 48, and Giang Quang Bui, 54, rented houses from unsuspecting landlords in false names and grew hundreds of stronger “skunk” cannabis plants, Leeds Crown Court heard today.

Police raids uncovered sophisticated growing and heating equipment, fertiliser and cannabis plants at factories at Winston Terrace, Lidget Green, Scotchman Road, Heaton, and Heaton Road, Manningham, all Bradford.

Drugs police also raided a house in View Road, Keighley, where they seized almost 400 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of more than £60,000.

Richard Mansell, prosecuting, said witnesses had identified Minh Hein Do – known as “Do” – who used a driving licence belonging to “Zuhang Kang” as identification to rent the Heaton Road property.

The same identification had also been used by Duc Van Nguyen – known as “Duc” – to rent the Keighley house and four others in Doncaster and Huddersfield in late 2006, the court heard.

He and Giang Quang Bui – known as “Bui” – had previously been discovered in 2005 by police at a factory in Surrey in a car loaded with cannabis plants.

All three moved to Bradford in May 2007 to carry on their illegal enterprise until “the heat died down” in Doncaster, said Mr Mansell.

Giving evidence yesterday, Asad Hussain, the landlord at the Heaton Road property said a man known as “Lee” signed a 12-month contract for the house, using the Kang driving licence.

He was accompanied by Duc, whose fingerprint was discovered on the agreement, said Mr Mansell.

He only realised the house was being used to grow £60,000 of cannabis plants, when police woke him up following a raid in January 2008.

He said: “The police told me that people renting the house had been growing cannabis there. I was really shocked.”

Police later showed Mr Hussain videos in which he identified Do as the man known as “Lee”, said Mr Mansell.

The prosecution also alleges that the fingerprint of Kim Nguyen, 22, was found on the tenancy agreement for View Road, Keighley.

The prosecution say she was posing as the wife of “Kang”.

Bui, Duc and Kim, of Crescent Walk, Bradford, and Do, of Beldon Road, Bradford deny conspiracy to produce cannabis.

Bui and Duc also deny possessing criminal property after they were found with £20,000 in cash.

The trial continues.