According to police of Long Bien District, Hanoi, Tiberghien Frederec (born 1966) of French nationality working for a company in Yen Bai Province, was found to plant cannabis in the alluvial islet in the city's Red River.

Frederec and his wife had hired a 3,000 squared-meter piece of land to cultivate the prohibited plant.

A total 115 cannabis plants weighing around 34 kilograms were found on the islet, alongside with 40,268g of dried cannabis.

After making a record on the spot, the functional force urged relevant persons to go the police headquarters for further verification.

An investigation is ongoing.

Growing plants containing narcotic substances is prohibited in Vietnam. Photo: Cay thuoc Viet Nam

According to Article 247 of the Penal Code of Vietnam, anyone who grows opium poppy, coca, cannabis or other plants containing narcotic substances prescribed by the Government in one of the following cases shall be jailed from six months to three years:

a) The person arrested for growing cannabis twice;

b) The person who repeats the offense for which he/she had been administratively sanctioned before; or repeat the offense while serving a sentence for similar offense;

c) Planting with the quantity from 500 to less than 3,000 of plants containing narcotic substances.

The punishment for such offense would be jail sentence of three to seven years if the crime is organized; or the number of plants exceeds 3,000; or dangerous recidivism.