Four Jailed Over Drug Network

Four drug traffickers have been jailed for their part in a network based around a remote farm in Kent.

The site at Bredgar, near Sittingbourne was the hub and distribution centre for large quantities of cutting agents and chemicals used to bulk out the class A for supply across the South East.

The three men and one woman were sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court following a complex three-year investigation to bring them to justice.

40 year old Ty Traton Ripley who owns the farm was convicted of assisting in the supply of class A and B drugs, and possession with intent to supply a class C drug. He has been jailed for six and a half years

The three others - Omar Sadique, 29, from Kimberworth in Rotherham, Raymond Heather, 52, of Lambeth, south London, and Tracey McCarthy, 50, of Rotherhithe in London were sentenced to a total of 18 years.

Assistant Chief Constable Gary Beautridge, head of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: @This was a particularly complex and time consuming investigation which led us to many parts of the country in our pursuit of those involved.

"During our investigations a clear picture emerged of a chain leading from the supply of cutting agents to the bulking out of high purity drugs and then on to the supply of controlled drugs themselves.

"The Serious Crime Directorate is here to tackle exactly this type of organised, criminal activity and I am satisfied that, having successfully dismantled this supply chain, those responsible are now behind bars for a substantial amount of time.''