A Kent pensioner has been jailed after helping mastermind a smuggling operation involving cannabis worth more than £2 million.

Thomas Abrahams, 73, of Sheerness, was part of an organised crime network which hid three-quarters of a tonne of the illegal drug in dog biscuits bags in a bid to conceal the smell.

The four men - three of whom are from south London - have been jailed for a total of 28 years following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation.

The investigation revealed that Kevin Downes - the group's leader - arranged for the drugs to be delivered from Spain to a fictional company titled Levante European.

Kent-based Abrahams then arranged for the load to be delivered to an industrial unit based at a remote farmland location in Lower Road, Sheerness.

The illegal cargo, which was transported to the UK by an unsuspecting and legitimate delivery firm in September 2016, was unloaded by gang member John Downes, 58, at the industrial unit on the Isle of Sheppey.

Investigators tracking the gang watched as the drugs were taken from the van before opening boxes containing bags of dog food ridden with cannabis.

Downes was arrested at the scene. Two hours later, at about 1pm, his brother Kevin - along with Brian Chapman - were stopped at a shop near near the unit.

Abrahams was then arrested the following month at his Sheerness home.

Following a two-month trial at the Old Bailey, Abrahams was jailed for five years and six months after being found guilty.

Brothers Kevin, 57 and John Downes, from Bermondsey in south London, were jailed for nine years and 10 months and seven years and four months respectively.

Brian Chapman, 64, also from Bermondsey, was sentenced to five years and four months.

Jacque Beer, NCA branch commander said: “Today’s sentencing marks the end of a long investigation that was undertaken over a number of months, in which we worked closely with our colleagues from Kent and Essex police. “This is a significant disruption of an organised crime network intent on bringing illegal drugs into the UK.

“The Downes’ brothers, Chapman and Abrahams are career criminals. They were all seeking to profit from the misery that illegal drugs cause our communities.

“The cannabis had a street value of more than £2.1 million and no doubt the proceeds would have funded further criminality.

“We take all importations of illegal drugs seriously and this joint policing operation has prevented a substantial quantity of drugs from ending up on our streets.”