Drug dealer pleads guilty after discovery of Kent's largest cannabis farm

A PADDOCK Wood man has pleaded guilty in court after the largest drug bust in Kent' s history uncovered £8.5million worth of cannabis.

Danny Malone, 43, of Collier Street, admitted being part of a gang conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Arrested in a lay-by in Queen Street, on March 4, Malone was found with 200 kilos of the Class B drug.

Police watching Paddock Wood railway station saw Malone park at Waitrose supermarket where he was met by Marek Sieprawski, 34, from the West Midlands - who pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy to supply charge, on Wednesday (August 28) at Maidstone Crown Court.

The pair are alleged to have driven off in convoy before being stopped by police not far from the station, where officers seized 200 kilos of cannabis worth £200,000.

The larger haul came four days later, on March 8, when police from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate went to a farm in Ashford and stopped a lorry hauling a 40ft refrigerated container.

Inside they found two bright blue metal boxes, which contained a vast quantity of cannabis resin.

It is alleged that Malone rented the unit in February to store the drugs.

The court heard that the lorry was followed by a car carrying Martin Merritt, 39, from Dagenham. He has pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy to supply offence.

Prosecutor Steven Perian told the court cannabis retrieved from boxes in the Paddock Wood raid was worth a street value of up to £8.5million.

The drugs found in the rear of Sieprawski's van were sealed in clear plastic and contained 15 kilos of cannabis resin.

A further nine packages were found in the rear of Malone's van.

Mr Perian told the court two mobile phones and a notebook were seized from Malone on the night, containing figures that were evidence of drug dealings.

He told the court that Malone was a key figure in the drug supply chain and involved in both hauls.

Speaking at the time of arrest, Detective Chief Inspector Eddie Fox said: "This was a huge haul which will never make its way into circulation in the county.

"Our action to tackle drugs in Kent should send a warning message to people within organised criminal networks that we will leave no stone unturned to find them and put them before the court."

Malone's brother Michael Malone, 46, from Hove, has also pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy to supply charge, while another defendant, Hugh Webb, 52, from Dagenham has pleaded not guilty.

Malone and the other two defendants who have admitted the offence will have to wait until the end of the trial to be sentenced

The trial continues.

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk 29/08/2013