A man has been jailed for more than 10 years for his role in a huge drugs ring operating in west Kent.

Darren Wickham, 40, was part of a cocaine distribution network which was also connected to money laundering offences, along with 16 other gang members.

Last year his associates were sentenced to a total of 149 years in prison, but Wickham fled to Thailand while on police bail and was on the run for more than a year and a half.

Wickham, formerly of Church Street in Edenbridge , was eventually arrested in May after returning to the UK.

An investigation was led by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate and ran from May 2013 to June 2014.

Mobile phone data was used throughout the case to help identify members of the group and monitor their activities. By the end of the investigation officers had removed more than 10kg of cocaine from the streets.

Wickham was initially arrested in November, 2014 after a warrant had been executed at another address in his road.

A search of a shed at the property led to the discovery of a holdall containing 33 circular discs with 8.2kg of compressed cocaine and two large hydraulic presses.

He appeared before Maidstone Crown Court on August 31 where he was sentenced to 10 years and four months for conspiracy to supply class A drugs. He was also given a concurrent sentence of five years for money laundering.

He pleaded guilty to both offences.

Investigating officer DC Charlotte Warren said: "The seizure of the holdall containing cocaine and discovery of the hydraulic presses illustrated just what a large scale operation Wickham was involved in.

"Along with his associates he was intent on saturating parts of west Kent with as much cocaine as possible.

"It has taken a long time but Wickham’s sentence now means we have been able to successfully bring a total of 17 people to justice, for their roles in what was a comprehensive and widespread criminal operation to supply class A drugs."