Four guilty after £4.9m cannabis raid
A POLICE swoop in Paddock Wood has helped smash a multi-million pound drugs ring in Kent. Maidstone Crown Court heard how offi-
cers from Kent and Essex Serious Crime Di- rectorate surrounded vans on a driveway off Queen Street on March 4. Danny Malone, 43, of Collier Street, Ton- bridge, was in one of the vehicles and was in the process of exchanging about 200kg of packaged cannabis resin. Detectives investigating the drug deal re-
alised a second, larger exchange was to take place nearAshford later the sameweek and, on March 8, stopped a lorry in Sandy Lane, Great Chart. Inside the container, officers found more than a tonne of cannabis resin, packaged in a similar way to the drugs un- covered in Paddock Wood. The 40ft refrig- erated container unit was being driven by 52-year-old HughWebb. In a nearby storage unit in Great Chart, of-
Danny Malone, left, and above, some of the cannabis found
ficers found Michael Malone, 46, of Hove, East Sussex, and Martin Merritt, 39, of Da- genham, Essex, sitting in a silver Mercedes. The storage unit had been rented in Danny Malone’s name the month before. In total, officers from Kent and Essex Se-
rious Crime Directorate seized just over 1.9 tonnes of cannabis resin in the space of a week, with an estimated street value of £4.9million. Webb, from Dagenham, Essex, was found
guilty by a jury at Maidstone for his part in the drugs supply ring, that of conspiring to supply cannabis. Brothers Danny and Michael Malone,
alongwithMartinMerritt, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis at an earlier hearing. The four men will be sentenced together
at the end of October at Maidstone Crown Court. Afifth man, Marek Sieprawski,was found
not guilty by majority verdict. Det Sgt Andy Nicoll, from Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: “This was one of the biggest drugs seizures of its kind in Kent. “This investigation and seizure has hit the
drugs network of Kent hard and sends a clear message that drugs will not be toler- ated here. We will do everything in our power to catch those responsible for sup- plying drugs and bring them to justice.”
Meat thief lands in jail Parking at farm approved
A YALDING man who stole meat from a supermarket in Maidstone and assaulted a po- liceman has been jailed for 90 days. Josh Drewett (22) admitted
two counts of assault, criminal damage, shoplifting and failing to surrender to police and to his court bail. Drewett, from Lughorse
Lane, stole the meat, worth £77.90, from Aldi in Well
Road on June 8 and assaulted a man in County Road, Maid- stone. The same day, he as- saulted a police officer and damaged a phone atMaidstone police station. On July 3 and August 19 he
failed to surrender to custody at Mid Kent Magistrates’ Court without a reasonable excuse. Magistrates sentenced him to
90 days in prison for the of- fences.
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