by Keith Hunt

A former businessman has been jailed for 13 years for his part in a massive £22 million drug smuggling conspiracy.

Sean Kelly rented storage premises in Dartford where the heroin was sent after being smuggled into the country from South Africa.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the scheme was discovered after a consignment of freight said to contain African curios and souvenirs was examined at Heathrow Airport in September last year.

The four pallets of 12 boxes had been sent from Durban to a company called SA Curio Cultural Supply UK at an address at 37a Lowfield Street, Dartford.

Miss Ruona Iguyovwe, prosecuting, said 75 packages in boxes containing crystal paperweights turned out to be 153 kilos of heroin with a purity of 83 per cent.

It was the biggest every seizure of the drug at the airport.

The heroin was removed, replaced with dummy packages and sent on to the address two days later.

Customs officers later entered the premises and found four boxes containing 71.1 kilos of heroin. The dummy packages were also found.

Miss Iguyovwe said enquiries revealed there had been three almost identical consignments from SA Curio South Africa to the UK company.

The heroin seized at Heathrow had a potential street value of £15.3 million. The heroin found at Dartford had a potential value of £7,110,000.

Miss Iguyovwe said the enterprise was directed by Paul Bromley, who was awaiting trial in South Africa. He recruited others.

Cannabis was also smuggled into the country in car batteries.

Kelly, 43, rented 350 square feet of space at a unit in Lowfield Street to store laser-etched crystals.

He was arrested in June this year when he surrendered to Bromley police. He indicated he knew Paul Bromley.

Kelly, of Hanworthy Gardens, Bracknell, Berkshire, admitted conspiracy to import drugs.

The court heard he ran a business providing storage facilities for equestrian events but it went bust in 2000 when there was a foot and mouth crisis.

He was said to have been approached to provide storage and initially thought it was legitimate but then knew illegal drugs were being stored.