Drug dealers involved in smuggling “premium” cannabis products worth at least £10 million from the US into the UK hidden in children’s toys and clothing have been jailed for a combined total of more than 14 years.

A court heard Samuel Dunne ran a “well-organised and extensively planned” operation over a 14-month period, with Keenan Hall-Shelton as a “trusted, top-end” member.

In fact, 30-year-old Dunne was so efficient in his business dealings that his own Google spreadsheets detailing addresses, stock lists, prices, unique parcel tracking codes and monies owed provided the authorities with what was described as a “clear audit trail.”

The cannabis, advertised as “California’s finest”, was offered for supply in various forms, including herbal, edible sweets, vapes and pre-rolled cigarettes.

Once in the UK, the parcel would be delivered to a recipient’s address, where it would then be collected by a courier for onward distribution and the recipient paid about £200 for their involvement.

The international drugs ring first came to police attention in February 2022 after Border Force officers had seized a large number of packages all sent from California and destined for addresses in north Kent.

Stashed among the parcel contents, which included such items as a children’s puzzle box and a girl’s jewellery box, was cannabis.

The amount of packages intercepted was such that the investigation was then handed over to the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

Dunne, of Belmont Road, Whitstable, was eventually linked to 355kg of the Class B drug although it is believed that unknown cannabis quantities slipped through the net to reach their intended destinations.

Hall-Shelton’s involvement in the illicit enterprise was limited to six months, with no more than 100kg passing through his hands

But the prosecution said he was in a position “above that of a courier” and acted as a “storekeeper” for drugs and associated paraphernalia found inside a container in Gravesend.

At their sentencing hearing at Maidstone Crown Court, prosecutor Bridget Todd said: “Samuel Dunne not only had a leading role, he had the leading role.

“This was his business, with the expectation of substantial financial advantage. He was the main person and organised the importation with others in the US. Everyone else was under him.

“Hall-Shelton had a top-end, significant role. He was an entrusted member and aware of the scale of the operation.”

Miss Todd explained how their eventual arrests resulted from a package interception in October 2022.

It was destined for a recipient in Hoo and police were able to identify a vehicle seen in the area suspected of being involved in its collection.

“It contained two vacuum-sealed packages of herbal cannabis hidden inside a children’s puzzle box and a girl’s jewellery box,” said the prosecutor.

"This was a well-organised and extensively planned supply network…”

The driver of the vehicle was traced and was arrested the following month. In his van were nine vacuum-sealed bags of cannabis on which Hall-Shelton’s fingerprints were found.

A phone seized also proved to be a “key piece” of evidence, detailing conversations about the arrangements for collections as well as photographs of the different types of drugs available for supply.

One message stated “We are taking on more addresses for Cali” before adding, with a reference to the £200 payment, that it was “impossible to get into trouble and an easy, quick way to make money.”

In the phone’s saved contacts was “Sam Dunne” as well as a number for 32-year-old Hall-Shelton, said Miss Todd. On a second device, police found conversations with Dunne detailing collections.

However, it was Dunne’s arrest on April 20 last year that led to the discovery of his extensive spreadsheets and “methodical tracking” of consignments.

“They gave an idea of the quantity of parcels being imported from the US,” the prosecutor told the court.

“They clearly showed Samuel Dunne had a very detailed system of recording parcels sent from the US until they reached the organised crime group in the UK.

“He was also responsible for importing cannabis into other countries but this case relates to drug importation into this country.

“The number [of parcels] sent to the UK was 1,668 and the number delivered was 1,073, with sizes ranging from half a kilo to 1kg.

“This was a well-organised and extensively planned supply network. Those involved in managing the activity had employees who were instructed and paid to carry out necessary tasks to ensure a successful and smooth running of the operation.

“The seized packages alone indicated that multiple kilos of cannabis were imported into the UK.”

Police also found two, clingfilm-wrapped blocks of cannabis resin together with a quantity of skunk cannabis on a bedside table at Dunne’s home.

Two weeks before his arrest, Hall-Shelton had been seen dumping cardboard boxes in a recycling bin.

The packaging was retrieved by police and found to have originated from the US and addressed to recipients in north Kent.

Then, on April 11 last year, officers watched as he went back and forth, wearing blue, surgical-type gloves, to a secure container on the premises of Direct Container Repairs in Mark Lane.

He eventually locked up the container and left carrying a Co-op biodegradable shopping bag so heavy that he struggled to hold the handles together, said Miss Todd.

Hall-Shelton, of Ash Road, Sevenoaks, was arrested at Ebbsfleet International Station. On him was a key to the container which, when searched, revealed a total of two kilos of cocaine shared between supermarket carrier bags, empty packaging which had held a further three kilos, as well as quantities of cannabis and MDMA.

At his home, police found drug-associated equipment, £20,000 cash, a machete, knuckleduster and several phones.

Dunne, who has 18 previous convictions for 32 offences, including three related to drugs, and was jailed for 12 months in July 2020, later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cannabis between February 1, 2022, and April 21 last year, and possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

Hall-Shelton has four previous convictions for five offences, including one related to cocaine for which he was jailed for 26 months in December 2019.

He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cannabis and possessing cannabis with intent to supply, as well as possessing cocaine with intent to supply, possessing criminal property - namely £20,000, possessing an offensive weapon - the knuckleduster, and an unrelated theft of a bicycle.

Described in character references as “reliable, hardworking and willing to learn new skills”, the court heard he became embroiled in the enterprise after his life ”spiralled into chaos” through gambling and his own cocaine habit.

Dunne was jailed for seven-and-a-half years and Hall-Shelton for seven years on Wednesday.

Judge Julian Smith remarked that Dunne’s spreadsheets “made proving the case against him much more straightforward.”

Both men will face confiscation proceedings at a later date. Dunne is also expected to be made subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order.

It was reported in June last year that nine other arrests had been made in Dartford, Gravesend and Medway in connection with the commercial-scale drugs ring.

Police also sent more than 150 ‘cease and desist’ letters to addresses known to have received the illegal packages, warning that they risked arrest and prosecution if they accepted further deliveries in the future.