Three men involved in a wholesale supply of high purity cocaine worth millions on the street have been jailed for more than 19 years between them.

Dad of three Bradley O'Neil, from Sheerness, was linked with panel beater Wayne Denton, from Norfolk, to a drugs plot operated through the illicit EncroChat phone network at the start of the Covid pandemic.

Using the handle CallMeCurly, O'Neil liaised with another unknown individual higher up in the enterprise to arrange collection and deliveries of at least 25kg of the class A drug between March and June 2020.

Maidstone Crown Court heard police identified 22 exchanges with nine different customers in that period, for which postcodes and passwords - one being 'Lockdown' - would be provided.

Denton, using the handle CallMe Fisherman, was involved in one delivery carried out in April 2020 and arranged by O'Neil.

But although his role in that Kent conspiracy was limited, he was also embroiled in a second cocaine supply plot linked to south east London and as far north as Lancashire, and with third defendant, youth worker Charlie Eatherton.

Although by December 2021 all three had been arrested and charged, it was not until this week that they appeared in court for sentencing.

O'Neil, 29, of Halfway Road, and Eatherton, 25, of Witherston Way, Eltham, south east London, had each pleaded guilty to one offence of conspiracy to supply a class A drug, while Denton, 37, of Palmer Way, Downham Market, had admitted two such offences.

Eatherton also admitted dangerous driving in relation to a high-speed police pursuit through Sidcup on March 3, 2021, while he was at the wheel of a rental Toyota Prius fitted with false plates.

The court heard that the chase occurred when he and others, including Denton, had been under surveillance at addresses in Eltham, Greenwich and Chislehurst.

Having reached speeds of 77mph in a 30mph zone, mounted a pavement, driven on the wrong side of the road and jumped a red light - all in what a judge described as "appalling" conditions - Eatherton eventually decamped from the vehicle and fled over garden fences.

Although he evaded capture, a Sainsbury's bag he had been carrying was later found dumped with 1kg of cocaine of 93% purity inside.

Eatherton was eventually apprehended 13 days later, but not before he had contacted police through his solicitor to cheekily ask whether he could hand himself in after he had celebrated his birthday on March 19.

Detailing the Kent drugs conspiracy, prosecutor Paul Valder said O'Neil was linked to the user of the handles Top.Net and Top.Org. who would themselves be contacted by suppliers with kilo quantities of cocaine they wanted to sell to him.

"Having arranged a price, Top.Net would be given a postcode from where the cocaine would be collected," Mr Valder told the court.

"Bradley O'Neil would then be contacted and would arrange for a biker to collect the cocaine.

"Top.Net would then be contacted by customers on Encrochat who would buy the cocaine from him.

"He would task O'Neil with arranging delivery. He (O'Neil) then tasked Denton, among others, to deliver to customers.

‘Cocaine is a dangerous substance that ruins people’s lives...’

"Between late March and mid June 2020, 25kg of cocaine was supplied to nine different customers.

"The wholesale value, taking a generously low price of around £35,000 a kilo, was £875,000."

The court heard that one 'sale' was to O'Neil himself who appeared to be operating 'some sort of sideline', said the prosecutor.

He also had responsibility for "supervising" a safe house where the drug would be stored, and advised Top.Net on stock levels.

Mr Valder added that once the CallMeCurly handle had been attributed to O'Neil, he was arrested at the caravan he shared with his partner and then two-week-old daughter on December 7, 2021.

Denton was also arrested that day, having been previously apprehended and charged in April 2021 for the drugs supply enterprise which operated between January and March 2021 that year.

At his then home in Greenwich, police found a burner phone, scales and a quantity of cutting agent but he initially denied any involvement in drugs.

The court heard O'Neil, an M&S warehouse operative with two previous convictions for possessing class A drugs with intent, and Denton had been on remand since their arrests in late 2021.

Eatherton, whose previous convictions include similar drug supply offences in 2018, spent almost eight months in custody on remand before being released on bail and subject to a tagged curfew for a total of 976 days.

In that time, the court heard, he had tackled his own drug problems, gained employment earning £25,000 a year and become a youth worker at a local club.

One of the reasons for the lengthy delay in sentencing was the need for a trial of a man from Swanley who was alleged to have been the user of the Top.Net and Top.Org handles.

He, however, was subsequently acquitted at the same court last year.

Irshad Sheikh, defending O'Neil, told the court a "long-standing and entrenched" crack cocaine addiction had led to significant drug debt and a vulnerability that was "used" by those higher up the chain.

But he said the shutting down of the EncroChat network by law enforcement agencies had resulted in him "looking in the mirror at himself" and, by the time of his arrest, he had "turned his life around", working legitimately and supporting his family.

One of his three daughters, aged just nine, was even said to have written a letter to the court, saying how much she missed her dad while he had been on remand.

"He realises what an awful father he has been to his daughters, to his partner," added Mr Sheikh.

"He knows he has done wrong but while in prison has tried to better himself and taken the opportunity to learn.

"He wants to turn his back on criminality and be the role model that he should to his daughters."

Kevin Molloy, defending Denton, said he came from a "family of workers" and, with no previous convictions, had behaved "out of character".

Stephen Nelson, defending Eatherton, had argued the court "could and should" consider suspending any prison sentence as he had "sought to change his ways".

But on jailing all three men on Thursday (July 11), Judge Gareth Branston concluded they had played significant, "operational and managerial" roles in the conspiracies, would have been aware of the scale of the supply, and had expected substantial financial advantage.

O'Neil was jailed for nine years and Denton for four years and nine months. Eatherton was sentenced to a total of five years and five months, and handed a three-year driving ban.

Each will serve half their prison terms, less time already spent in custody or on qualifying curfew.

Judge Branston told the defendants the "extraordinary burden" of the delays in criminal proceedings had been marked by a "significant discount" in their sentences.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Steve Brown said: “Cocaine is a dangerous substance that ruins people’s lives and there is no place for it on the streets of Kent. That is why we do not rest until the likes of Bradley O’Neill and Wayne Denton are behind bars where they can cause no further damage to society.

“Like many other criminals who have also been sent to prison since the Encrochat messaging service was cracked, O’Neill and Denton thought they could communicate freely about the crimes they were committing. They now understand that there is no hiding place from the law.”