Maidstone Crown Court Sentencing Results

Danny Smith was part of an organised crime group responsible for the large-scale importation of class A drugs concealed in shipments of bananas. Between March and December 2021, the group imported and distributed at least 1.4 tonnes of cocaine from Central America. They used encrypted messaging and pseudonyms to arrange the movement of between 30 and 100kg of drugs at a time, using hire vans and shipping containers. On one occasion, a container of bananas arriving at the Port of Sheerness from Costa Rica was found to contain over a tonne of cocaine. Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply and import class A drugs.

Between 2013 and February 2019, Michael Stanley operated a Ponzi-style scheme under the name 'Layzey Racing Syndicate', disguised as a lay betting horse racing gambling scheme. Over 6,000 members invested a minimum of £44.2 million, but Stanley used new investments to pay earlier members, lied about successful gambling, inflated investment values, and paid money into his own accounts. The scheme collapsed in February 2019, resulting in an overall net loss of at least £10.5 million. Stanley benefited by at least £4 million, using funds for a lavish lifestyle including 23 racehorses, a villa and apartment in Spain, new Land Rovers, private number plates costing £15,000, and expensive jewellery.

Abdallah Chakir was a passenger in a Peugeot 5008 stopped by Kent Police in Tunbridge Wells for suspicious activity. He lied about being in London for clubbing, but evidence showed he had been in Kent. Cocaine fell from his trousers, and he attempted to hide other drugs. Further drugs were found during a strip search in custody, totaling 174 street deals. He was arrested in April.

Simon Thorpe, aged 34 from Aylesford, was arrested on 2 February 2024 on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis as part of a network known as ‘Dave’. Police seized a phone and a kilogram of cannabis worth £3,000 to £4,000. The phone contained family photos, marketing messages to over 300 drug users in west Kent, and a restaurant booking confirmed by CCTV at a Sevenoaks steakhouse.

A bloodstain discovered in a shipment of nearly half a tonne (427 kilogrammes) of cannabis, worth between £1.5 million and £2.5m, found in a storage container at a location in Formby Road, Halling, on Thursday 16 May 2024, was a DNA match for John Small, 61, from Maidstone. On Tuesday 21 May, officers spotted and arrested him filling his Chrysler 300 at a service station in Chatham; his vehicle contained a further 1kg package of cannabis and £3,200 cash. He was clearly part of an organised criminal network involved in the supply of cannabis on an industrial scale.

Bradley O’Neill, 29, from Sheerness, known on Encrochat as ‘Call Me Curly’, arranged for the delivery of a total of 25 kilogrammes of cocaine to other drug suppliers between March and June 2020 as part of an organised crime group supplying around £2.5 million worth of cocaine across Kent. He unwittingly helped officers establish his identity by referring to a police stop and search by Metropolitan Police on the A2 near Bexleyheath in April 2020, mentioning being ‘getting nicked’, the A2, and a helicopter, and by sharing names and birthdays of family members.

Kastriot Dani, 43, of Cheltenham Close, Rushden, Northamptonshire, was involved in an organised crime group supplying cocaine. Police stopped his Jaguar on January 16, 2024, and found a kilogram of cocaine in a hidden compartment, along with £10,000 in cash.

Robert Deards, 28, of no fixed address, was part of an organised crime group that supplied cocaine across Kent. On January 16, 2024, police seized three kilograms of cocaine and a handgun during operations, including stops of vehicles in Burham.

Ryan Gooderson, 23, of Bell Lane, Ditton, was part of an organised crime group that supplied cocaine and cannabis. Police seizures on January 16, 2024, included three kilograms of cocaine and a handgun during vehicle stops.

Malcom Glancey, 66, of Rycault Close, Maidstone, was involved in an organised crime group supplying cocaine across Kent. Operations on January 16, 2024, led to the seizure of three kilograms of cocaine and a handgun.

Stephen Palmer, from Kings Hill, used the EncroChat handle ‘Palmbeach’ to communicate with criminals and arrange cocaine deals at almost £40,000 a kilogram, with hundreds of messages attributed to him also demonstrating involvement in ketamine supply. He was identified by images of him holding a fish and selling a vehicle, plus paperwork relating to a property in France with a UK address in Hythe. Arrested on 31 March 2023, with searches yielding a phone, £6,000 cash, two designer watches, and a cutting agent.

Brandon Chalcroft co-ordinated a county lines drug network supplying heroin and cocaine (including crack cocaine) throughout Medway using the ‘Ice line’ phone number, with bulk messages sent to local users identified in September 2023. Four separate numbers were deployed by the gang. Arrested on 6 December 2023 with a mobile phone and £1,475 cash seized.

Gareth Glynn Davies, 44, of Cleves Way, Ashford, a Border Force field intelligence officer at Folkestone, was arrested in January 2020 following a National Crime Agency surveillance operation triggered by a tip-off. On 21 January 2020, he supplied four ecstasy (MDMA) pills to a contact as a taster, promising 5,000 more. He was arrested after handing over the pills in a joint operation with Border Force.

Daniel Cook played a key role in a county lines drug network supplying heroin and cocaine (including crack cocaine) throughout Medway using the ‘Ice line’ phone number, with bulk messages sent to local users identified in September 2023. Four separate numbers were deployed by the gang. Detained during search of his house where mobile phone, crack cocaine and heroin deals were seized.

In early January 2024, Kent Police’s County Lines and Gangs Team identified the ‘MB line’ phone supplying heroin and crack cocaine to users in Medway. Odyssius Ojo, of no fixed address, was arrested in Snodland on 23 January 2024 for a separate matter. A search revealed he possessed the ‘MB line’ phone and a knife disguised as a keyring fob. He initially denied knowledge of the phone but later admitted sending multiple texts offering drugs for sale between 12 December 2023 and 23 January 2024.

Alan Skinner, 57, of Millfield Road, West Kingsdown, set up a sham investment opportunity through Tritex Global Limited, a company he directed. He conned four victims into paying £159,000 for binary option trading, which was never invested as promised. Victims were cold-called in 2017, received misleading brochures promising account managers and customer service, and were given access to fake webpages showing investment growth. When they tried to withdraw funds, excuses were made, revealing the company had no money. This led to reports to Action Fraud and a subsequent investigation by Kent Police.