Detectives found messages were being sent out to drug users in the town by a group called the ‘Tony’ county line in January 2023.

Enquiries found that a teenage boy from outside the county was being used by the group to move drugs to a property believed to have been ‘cuckooed’.

Officers attended the property on 20 January and found wraps of heroin, a phone used to arrange drug deals and a quantity of cash.

The investigation linked the boy being used by the group to stays at a hotel and CCTV enquiries found the rooms were booked by Sean Musgrave.

Musgrave, of Coldharbour Lane, Kemsley, was tracked down and arrested in Ashford on 6 February. Class A drugs were found in his possession and a knife and baseball bat were found at his home. He was charged the following day.

At Canterbury Crown Court on 15 March, he admitted to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin, possession of a knife and possession of an offensive weapon. The 34-year-old was sentenced to three years and two months imprisonment at the same court on 31 March.

Detective Sergeant Robert Goodban, of the County Line and Gangs Team, said: ‘This case shows how county line gangs exploit the young and the vulnerable to cash in on the plight of drug users in our communities.

‘The weapons found at Musgrave’s home show the threat of violence that so often lies behind these groups’ activities and that is why we are determined to keep arresting drug dealers and shutting down their networks.’