Detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate are leading the case and the charges follow on from a number of search warrants that were carried out at homes across the country on Wednesday 18 October 2023. The offending is believed to have taken place between March 2020 and December 2021. The planned search warrants were carried out in Margate, Orpington, Sunderland and Stockton-on-Tees.

Nine people were arrested and interviewed, a 40-year-old woman has since been released on police bail and two men aged 33, one aged 30 and another aged 35, all remain under investigation.

On Wednesday 18 October four men were charged with conspiracy to import and supply class A drugs.

They are:

•         Danny Smith, 31, of Berrylands in Orpington

•         Addison Curtis, 36, of Westbrook Avenue in Margate

•         Christian Lee, 49, of Ravenna Road, Sunderland

•         Nikki Fewsdale, 41, of Meadow Court, Norton, Stockton-on-Tees.

All four have been remanded in custody and are due to appear in court on Thursday 19 October 2023.