Ten men involved in what is thought to be one of the biggest drug operations in the south east of England have received jail sentences totaling more than 100 years.

The defendants admitted being part of the movement of 250 kilos of cocaine worth more than £15 million between 2019 and 2022, operating in Kent, Suffolk and Sussex.

Today, Maidstone Crown Court heard that a police operation codenamed Venetic, discovered the men used an encrypted mobile phone chat system, where they discussed delivery and payments.

The defendants had handles such as Rebornpainter and Sleekeye on the chat system.

They admitted offences which include conspiracy to supply and transferring illegal funds. Some were involved in the supply and others were couriers or provided safe houses to store the drugs or the money.

Officers from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate were first alerted to the criminality when they seized a phone in 2020 during a separate investigation.

A previous international operation had taken down EncroChat, which was used by criminals across the UK and Europe.

The operation allowed investigators from the National Crime Agency to understand the illicit activity of people using the system and showed the scale of criminal businesses operating across multiple countries.

As part of that work data was retrieved from thousands of devices, which included the phone in this instance, that had been seized by officers.

The information on the phone led Kent Police detectives straight to David Squires and Lewis Cosgrove who both had EncroChat handles.

They were later found to be instrumental in the running of a Kent-based organised crime network and had a part to play in the mass supply of cocaine to at least two other organised crime groups in different counties.

Detectives then built further connections to other defendants.

Squires was arrested in connection with this conspiracy on 5 March 2021, where six kilos of cocaine and approximately £114,000 in cash were recovered from a premises that belonged to him in Rochester.

In addition to the drugs and cash, a tick-list recovered from him identified that the network had been in receipt and subsequent distribution of 43 kilos of cocaine.

When Squires was arrested, Cosgrove was elevated within the network to replace him, and detectives continued to build their case and gather the evidence needed to secure charges.

Cosgrove was seen by officers having a meeting in Strood with a man named James Savva from London on November 29, 2021. Cosgrove collected two bags from Savva and took them to an address. After he had left that premises, police ordered a search warrant at the property and recovered 16 kilos of high-purity cocaine.

On March 23, 2022, detectives had enough evidence to bring in all the suspects they believed were involved in the conspiracy.

Enforcement action was carried out, simultaneously, at several properties in Kent, London, Suffolk, and Sussex, and the remaining arrests took place.

The defendants pleaded guilty to the following charges:

Patrick Hallahan, 36, of The Drive, Hove, Brighton, pleaded gulity to four counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and one count of encouraging/assisting in commission of indictable offences, he was jailed for 14 years, while Richard Shelton, 41, of Hillcrest Close, London admitted three counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was jailed for 15 years and six months.

Kevin Ratcliffe, 42, of Longhill Road, Brighton, admitted four counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was locked up for 14 years, while David Squires, 46, of Chorister Crescent, Hoo, Rochester, admitted three counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was jailed for seven years.

Jessie Cockle, 29, of Hulver Road, Beccles, Suffolk, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was locked up for 14 years and six months and Lewis Cosgrove, 39, of Butlers Park Way, Rochester, admitted four counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and transferring criminal property and was jailed for 12 years and nine months.

Michael Blewett, 43, of Mulberry Close, Brighton, admitted one count of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and was locked up for 10 years and six months and Damion Freeman, 45, of Lenham Avenue, Saltdean, Brighton, admitted one count of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and was jailed for eight years and six months.

Carl Crabtree, 41, of Colsterdale, Carlton Colville, Lowestoft, Suffolk, admitted one count of possession of criminal property and was locked up for three years while James Savva, 51, of Reservoir Road, London, admitted one count of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was jailed for five years and eight months.

After the sentencing, a man sitting in the public gallery was brought before Judge Philip Statman for taking a photograph of the defendants in the dock during a break.

The man, who had been taken out of the court by two police officers, told the judge he hadn't realised it was an offence and the incriminating picture was ordered to be deleted.

After giving him a dressing down, Judge Statman allowed him to leave.

Kent Police’s Investigating Officer, DC Mark Froome, said: “Disrupting criminal gangs like this and putting a stop to their offending in Kent will continue to be one of our priorities.

“The supply of drugs into this county brings misery to people’s lives and we will always work with other forces to ensure we catch those responsible.

“The criminals involved in this conspiracy were focused on making money and their greed got in the way of any consideration for the lives they would destroy once those drugs had found their way into our communities.

“No matter how good you think you are at covering your tracks, we will eventually catch up with you to ensure justice is served.”