More than a dozen Kent criminals have been slapped with National Crime Agency orders, including four members of the gang behind the biggest gun running operation in the UK.

Harry Shilling, Michael Defraine, Richard Rye and David Payne will be subject to five-year Serious Crime Prevention Orders upon their release from prison.

The first three will face restrictions on communication devices, vehicles, travel, firearms and socialising, while Payne will only have to adhere to a travel restriction.

The gang were caught with a £100,000 haul of 31 machine guns and more than 1,500 rounds at Cuxton Marina in August 2015.

Shilling, 27 and of Swanley, was jailed for 30 years, while his 'trusted lieutenant' Defraine, 31 and of Bexleyheath, got 27 years.

Rye, 25 and of Swanley, was jailed for 14 years and three months behind bars and Payne, of Cuxton was sentenced to 14 years and six months.

Also included on the list are —

Erith gangster Victor Akinluyi who is serving 13 and a half years for his role in a £700,000 plot to smuggle cocaine into the country hidden in in-flight meal cartons.

Kings Hill drug dealer Anthony Dymott is now subject to a 10-year order meaning he must report all financial dealings to the NCA.

Abdul Niazi, of Tunbridge Wells, was jailed for 12 years in 2009 for his role in smuggling at least 230 people into the UK from Afghanistan. He will now have to inform the agency of business interests, premises and vehicles owned and travel outside the UK and also faces restrictions on possession of cash, money transfers and association with certain individuals. The order will run for five years.

“Many career criminals regard prison as an interruption which rarely marks the end of their involvement in organised crime. This is why NCA has a policy of Lifetime Management. Once a criminal is on our radar they will stay on it." — Alison Abbott

Philip Brown, of Gravesend, who, alongside his brother Christian, received a nine-and-a-half year sentence in 2011 for printing more than £17.5m of fake £20 notes is now subject to a three year order restricting his finances, premises and vehicle ownership and possesion of certain equipment.

Darren Finch, of Detling, is subject to a five-year order. The 43-year-old was jailed for five-and-a-half years in 2014 after he went on the run following the discovery of 100kg of skunk cannabis in a Darenth industrial unit.

Jason Flisher, of Folkestone, will become subject to a five-year order upon his release from prison. He is currently serving a 16-year sentence for his role in a multimillion pound cocaine smuggling plot. He faces restrictions on associating with individuals, communications devices and vehicles.

The orders are aimed at disrupting criminality inside and outside prison. They include Serious Crime Prevention Orders, Financial Reporting Orders and Travel Restriction Orders.

They can restrict the number of mobile phones or computers that offenders can access, limit the amount of cash they can carry, require them to surrender passports and provide financial information at regular intervals.

The NCA says it "rigorously enforces these orders and takes action if people breach the terms."

Alison Abbott, head of lifetime management at the NCA, said: “Many career criminals regard prison as an interruption which rarely marks the end of their involvement in organised crime. This is why NCA has a policy of Lifetime Management. Once a criminal is on our radar they will stay on it.

“These orders can include a wide variety of restrictions, all designed to limit the opportunities for criminals to engage in illegal activity. Part of their power is that they make offenders subject to an order toxic to other criminals; the very fact they are being monitored makes it risky for criminals to be associated with them for fear of coming onto our radar themselves.”

Anyone with relevant information on the individuals named should contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via the Crimestoppers website.