A man nabbed desperately trying to flush £8,000 of crack cocaine down the loo was among county lines dealers jailed for a total of 32 years.

Police issued 70 charges, 25 arrests and seized more than £10,000 in cash in Kent last month.

County lines sees London gangs run Class As - usually heroin and crack cocaine - in to commuter towns to find new markets.

Among those jailed in July was a Gravesend drug dealer who was arrested during a raid at his Abbey Wood home.

Officers found Melvin Gambanga in an en-suite, attempting to flush crack cocaine worth £8,000 down a toilet.

But to add to the offender's misery, police also found a loaded pistol.

He admitted to drug dealing offences and possessing a firearm, and was jailed for eight years.

Three year’s imprisonment was also handed to an offender who was seen by plain-clothed officers supplying Class A substances in Chatham.

The officers then followed him onto a train and, with nowhere to run, the offender was found in possession of a huge amount of heroin.

Another bungling dealer made it very easy for police to track them down after he was caught speeding in Edenbridge.

After a dramatic pursuit, officers found Ade Akande, 28, in possession of three mobile phones - used to communicate with drug dealers.

He organised the supply of heroin and crack cocaine across Sevenoaks and was jailed for two years and 10 months.

DCI Lopa McDermott, who leads the county line team, said: "Drug dealers are all too aware of the misery substance abuse causes to users, their families and the wider community.

"They choose to exploit vulnerable people and make money out of the suffering."

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