A criminal gang responsible for importing class A drugs in shipments of bananas has been jailed for more than 90 years between them.

The group, who imported and distributed at least 1.4 tonnes of cocaine from Central America, included three members from Kent.

On one occasion a ship arrived at the Port of Sheerness from Costa Rica and in one of the containers of bananas more than a tonne of cocaine was concealed.

The following night, the gang arrived at the port removing the crates of cocaine and taking them back to a yard in Longfield for onward distribution. Images later found on a phone showed how these would be distributed.

The same day, police stopped a vehicle leaving the yard in Longfield.

They found stacks of banana labels in the glove box. When questioned, one of the men claimed they were collected by his son.

The labels were later traced to the same shipping container used to smuggle the drugs.

Once the drugs had been divided between the couriers, members of the gang returned to the port the following night and filled the gaps made by the removal of the cocaine with bananas they had bought from supermarkets.

Danny Smith, 32, from Berrylands in Orpington was jailed for 16 years and eight months and Reece Jury, 36, from Queens Drive, Sevenoaks was jailed for 13 years and four months after they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply and import class A drugs.

Addison Curtis, 37, of Westbrook Avenue, Margate pleaded guilty to money laundering and was jailed for two years, suspended for two years.

Between March and December 2021, the organised crime group used an encrypted messaging app and pseudonyms such as Tunes, Bigwheeler and Rocket to communicate and arrange the movement of between 30 and 100kg of drugs at a time, predominantly using hire vans to collect and transport the drugs across the UK.

Arrests were made following a targeted day of action in October last year across six different areas, including Kent, London, Cambridgeshire, Staffordshire, Manchester, Cleveland and Northumbria.

The investigation by Kent Police’s Economic Crime Unit began after the infiltration of the encrypted messaging service EncroChat.

Analysis of phone data established on occasions they would use shipping containers to smuggle the drugs into Kent concealed among bananas.

Following a lengthy and complex investigation, a total of eight people were all charged for their part in the organised crime gang.

At a hearing at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday, October 1 seven were sentenced.

Also guilty of conspiracy to supply and import class A drugs was Amir Manouchehri, 34, from Hulme Hall Road, Manchester, who was jailed for 13 years and eight months and Christian Lee, 50, of Ravenna Road, Sunderland, who was jailed for 19 years.

Christopher Sharrock, 31, from Hawthorn Avenue, Wigan, and Nikki Fewsdale, 42, of Meadow Court, Norton, Stockton-on-Tees were found guilty of importing class A drugs. Sharrock was jailed for 18 years and Fewsdale for 14 years.

A 34-year-old man from Manchester pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply and import class A drugs. He will be sentenced in November.

Detective Sergeant Dean Sycamore said: “This was a long and complex investigation and there is no doubt this was a significant haul of drugs, which undoubtedly would have had a disruptive impact on the supply networks across Kent.

“While we have been successful in taking a large amount of illegal drugs off the streets, we have also put significant drug dealers behind bars for a considerable length of time.

”It also sends a strong and clear message that if you attempt to set up a drugs supply network in this county, we will use all available tools to us to arrest you and put you before the courts and ensure the drugs are destroyed and most importantly, not on our streets.

“We will also be doing everything within our power to strip those responsible of any assets gained as a result of criminal activity.”