A jury which waited for almost two weeks to sit on a lengthy drugs trial has been discharged - without hearing a single piece of evidence.

The men and women had expected to try eight defendants accused of being involved in a heroin supply network from Grimsby to the Medway Towns.

But after the swearing in of 12 jurors and two reserves at Maidstone Crown Court they sat around as prosecution and defence lawyers went into a huddle.

When the patient jurors returned to court, they found the dock empty of defendants.

Seven of them had admitted the charge and the prosecution offered no evidence against the eighth and that person was discharged.

Judge Philip Statman told them: "Your eyes are probably on the dock. You are probably thinking where is everybody and what's happened to all the barristers since the last occasion. You don't even know what they were all charged with.

"Since I last saw you, all the defendants, with one exception, have changed their plea from not guilty to guilty.

"Had you been here for the next 10 weeks you would have heard the evidence outlined to you into what has been a very substantial investigation into county lines supply of class A drugs.

"So now all bar one has pleaded guilty there is nothing for you to try. That's it. The case as far as you are concerned is finished. They have never formally been put in your charge.

"Had you started on day one this would be your third week of jury service so I am delighted to tell you that you can leave the building, having completed your jury service."

After they had left, the judge quipped: "14 very happy people."

Six men who were due to stand trial are now to be sentenced at a later date after admitting conspiracy to supply class A drugs between December 31, 2016 and October 11, 2018.

Kazeem Akinfolarin, 29, of Worcester Road, Enfield; Romel Fregis, 26, of Eastcombe Avenue, Charlton; Andrew Huntley, 29, of Hopedale Road, Greenwich; Michael Odedina, 30, of Marina Heights, Gillingham; Francis Sunney-Ackon, 27, of Upper High Street, Epsom, Surrey; and Mark Downes, 46, of Normandy Road, Cleethorpes.

The seventh, 24-year-old Jack Smith, of The Mound, Eltham, pleaded guilty to an offence of money-laundering.

The court heard the landscape gardener allowed his bank account to be used to transfer small amounts of cash which went towards the cost of hiring cars in the furtherance of the county lines conspiracy.

Smith was given a 12-month community order in which he must complete 12 hours of unpaid work.

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