Three men have been jailed for a total of almost 22 years for a conspiracy involving the seizure of cocaine worth up to £1.5 million.

Drug users Ryan Smith, Ben Donovan and Baljinder Bhamra were arrested after police swooped on cars and a unit at Swanscombe Industrial Estate.

Officers seized 10 kilos of cocaine at about 80 percent purity and thousands of pounds in cash.

Father-of-two Smith, 34, who was running a car-dealing business from the unit, has been jailed for eight years and eight months for the leading role he played.

Ben Donovan, 35, was sentenced to seven years and four months and 41-year-old Bhamra to five years and 10 months.

Smith, of Mountacre Close, Sydenham, south east London, Donovan, of Carlton Avenue, Greenhithe, and Bhamra, of Cherrywood Drive, Northfleet, all admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Prosecutor Thom Dyke said Smith was arrested in March after being caught with eight kilos of the drug in a car.

Officers followed father-of-three Donovan as he made off in his car. He tried to remove a SIM card from his phone and threw his phone into bushes when arrested in Dartford.

When Unit One on the industrial estate was searched plastic bags containing white powder and £860 were found. Cash totalling £16,250 was concealed in the footwell of the car he was driving.

A search of Donovan’s home revealed another £6,750 and a Rolex watch worth £32,700.

Bhamra fell to be sentenced for his involvement on one day - February 12 - when police followed him to Essex after he collected two kilos of cocaine at 77 percent purity. He was stopped just over the Dartford Crossing.

Mr Dyke said of the conspiracy: “This is not a retail operation, it is effectively a wholesale operation.”

Passing sentence, Judge Jeremy Carey said: “There are those I suspect who could be measured in hundreds and hundreds of thousands who regard cocaine as some kind of recreation drug with no consequences whatsoever.

“That, no doubt, is why people like you are willing to take a chance and feed that supposedly social habit. It is easy distribution for easy and substantial reward.

“That is why prison sentences for those brought to justice have to be very substantial in order to deter.”

Bhamra, he said, was a good example of how cocaine could have devastating consequences. It can have a wholly pernicious and wholly negative use which leads to the kind of consequences you face today.”

The judge said all three had taken positive steps in custody to deal with their problems. “Long may it continue for the good of your family and society,” he added.

After sentencing, Detective Sergeant Jason Booth said: "Drugs ruin lives and these men – Smith and Donovan in particular – clearly benefited financially from the misery of others.

"We take a zero tolerance approach to the supply of drugs throughout Kent and the seriousness of the offences committed is reflected in the prison sentences passed down by the judge.

"I hope this case sends a clear message to other dealers that your crimes do not go unnoticed and will catch up with you in the end."