Vietnamese Quoc Ta , 33 , ( pictured ) had been deported from the UK twice before he was arrested at Derby train station carrying £4,500 of cannabis . An illegal immigrant who had twice been deported from Britain was caught with 2.2lb of cannabis on a train - after sneaking back into the UK for a third time . Quoc Ta was jailed for eight months after a court heard how transport police officers boarded a carriage and noticed an overwhelming stench of cannabis . Local councillors yesterday said the case proves that Britain remains an ‘ easy touch ’ for foreign criminals despite Border Force attempts to claim down on the influx of offenders from abroad . Ta , from Vietnam , now faces being deported for a third time once he is released from prison after being caught with cannabis with a street value of up to £4,500 while sitting alone on the train at Derby station . The 33-year-old admitted possessing the class B drug with intent to supply . Ta first came to the attention of UK authorities in 2008 when he was arrested in connection with a burglary . He was not convicted but was deported to Vietnam . He was arrested in April 2012 after being recruited as a ‘ gardener ’ growing cannabis for a south-east Asian gang and was sentenced to 18 months in prison . On his release he was deported in December 2012 . Derby Crown Court was not told how Ta made it back into the country for a third time , but prosecutor Karen Davenport-Coles said he was arrested in January when British Transport Police went on to the train where there was an ‘ extremely strong smell of cannabis ’ . Laura Chaplin , defending , said , told the court on Monday that Ta , of Leeds , returned to the UK for a third time having been ‘ the victim of a very serious assault in Vietnam , through owing money. ’ She said a knife had been used in the attack and threats had been made against his family . Miss Chaplin said Ta had agreed to transport the cannabis for payment after finding himself ‘ in a very desperate situation. ’ Following the hearing , Councillor Alan Graves , leader of Derby ’ s UKIP group said : ‘ Clearly , he ’ s not the sort of person we want in this country . I would imagine once he got into an EU country , he found it very easy to get back into this country . ‘ He obviously wants to come to this country because we are an easy touch. ’ Fellow councillor Lucy Care , deputy leader of Derby ’ s Liberal Democrats , said : ‘ It doesn ’ t seem right to me that somebody that we ’ ve sent out of the country because he is not following our laws is able to get back in again so soon afterwards . It makes a mockery of having gone to the effort to get rid of him. ’ A Home Office spokesman said all passengers entering the UK were ‘ checked against police , security and immigration watch lists on arrival. ’ He added : ‘ Where we believe someone poses a risk , Border Force officers can - and do - refuse them entry . ‘ Border Force officers use an array of search techniques including sniffer dogs , carbon dioxide detectors , heartbeat monitors , scanners and visual searches to find well-hidden stowaways on vehicles . Ta was arrested in January when British Transport Police went on to the train where there was an ‘ extremely strong smell of cannabis ’ . He was arrested in April 2012 after being recruited as a ‘ gardener ’ growing cannabis . ‘ Those subject to deportation orders face an indefinite ban from returning to the UK . They are entitled to apply to have the ban lifted after 10 years. ’ Last August , a court heard how a Lithuanian burglar who was deported upon early release from prison was caught back in the UK just 12 days later . Police suspected Marius Siurkus , 32 , returned to Peterborough to retrieve jewellery he had stolen during the burglary and hidden under floorboards . Incredibly , Siurkus ’ s accomplice in the burglary , countryman Mantas Pronckus , had also twice previously been freed from prison early and deported - only to return to the UK and continue offending on each occasion . The same month , 14-year-old Alice Gross disappeared after going for a walk along a canal near her home in Brentford , west London . The teenager ’ s body was later recovered from the River Brent . The badly decomposed body of the prime suspect in the murder , Arnis Zalkalns , 41 , was found in a park one mile away in October , after it had been revealed the Latvian had been allowed into the UK despite being convicted of murder in his homeland . Foreign criminals make up about one in eight - or 11,000 - of all those behind bars in England and Wales .
Illegal cannabis was caught with 2.2 lb of cannabis by undercover police . Vietnamese Quoc ##q had been deported from the UK twice before . He admitted cannabis with intent to supply after being arrested in Derby . The 33 year - old was arrested in 2008 and 2012 for offences . Councillors said the UK provided an ' easy touch ' for foreign criminals .