Two drug dealers caught with more than £30,000 and two kilos of cocaine hidden in a secret compartment in their car have been jailed for a total of 17 years.

Ross Everest, 40, and 30-year-old Daniel Healy were stopped after police spotted a drug deal in Burch Road, Gravesend, in October.

Officers seized a brown bag containing the cash and searched the vehicle, finding a hidden compartment with the drugs inside.

They attended Everest’s address in nearby Mermaid Close, seized £2,000 in cash, a kilo sized block of cocaine hidden in the oven, and a ruck sack containing cocaine in the hallway.

In the garage, they discovered 10 kilos of cannabis resin, seven kilos of amphetamine and a fist-sized ball of cocaine.

There were also a number of smaller bags, containing cocaine, cannabis resin, and pills scattered throughout the home.

Everest was charged with supplying Class A and Class B drugs.

Healy, of Ridgeley Road, Coventry, was charged with supplying Class A drugs.

Both pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court.

Everest also pleaded guilty to three offences of possessing cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis with intent to supply, and driving while disqualified.

Everest will serve 10 years in prison and Healy will serve seven.

The two were also served with a Serious Crime Prevention Order, which, among other things, orders Everest and Healy to inform police of their future banking and financial arrangements, mobile numbers and addresses.

Investigating officer DI Gary Scarfe, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "We take a zero tolerance approach to the supply of drugs throughout Kent.

"Everest had clearly already benefitted financially from his crimes and both he and Healy sought to continue taking advantage of those in society tied to drugs.

"Their sentences send a strong message to other dealers operating in the county. Your crimes do not go unnoticed and the only conclusion to your actions is a prison sentence."

The pair were told by a judge they had played leading and significant roles in the supply of drugs.

Passing sentence at Maidstone Crown Court, Judge Martin Joy said Everest was involved in 'directing and organising' the supply on a commercial scale with the expectation of substantial financial gain.

Healy, he added, also played a significant role at a time when he was on licence from prison.

Judge Joy told them both: "Everyone knows those who become users and abusers of class A and B drugs involve themselves in a filthy, degrading an disgusting habit.

"It undermines the individual and undermines the good order of society.

"Those who deal therefore and play a leading and significant role in the supply of such drugs to others , particularly in large quantities, can only expect the courts to deal with them by way of severe punishment."