Kent men arrested in huge drug smuggling operation to Australia

Three people who sent crystal meth to Australia, where it allegedly made up to £4.3 million, have been jailed. Yvonne Stewart, 55, from Croydon, and Kent men Kevin Filkins, 54, from Sevenoaks, and Robert Hamilton, 53, from Orpington, were found guilty for their role in a drug trafficking operation in January 2023 following an investigation by the Organized Crime Partnership (OCP), a joint unit of the National Crime Agency and the Metropolitan Police Service.

Following the seizure of 24 kilograms of crystal meth (methamphetamine) in Australia, the country's Border Force and the Australian Federal Police have determined that the shipment originated in the United Kingdom. OCP investigators discovered the drugs had been shipped from Croydon on June 25, 2021, with CCTV footage identifying Stewart, who was working in the freight sector at the time.

The footage also showed a man, later identified as Filkins, sending a shipment labeled “two glass Buddhas” to New South Wales, Australia. Stewart was responsible for the safety inspection of the item. The package contained nothing except the drugs, which were not concealed, proving that Stewart had not checked the contents.

Phone records showed that at key times Stewart telephoned Hamilton, who in turn was in contact with Filkins. Hamilton acted as an intermediary, putting Filkins in contact with Stewart who could facilitate the export of the drugs as a corrupt insider. Filkins' phone and vehicle were also found to have traveled from his home to the vicinity of the freight center that same morning.

OCP investigators also identified that Stewart, Filkins and Hamilton had previously sent two other shipments to Australia on June 2 and 24, 2021.

The designated senders of all three shipments were people whose passports had been stolen. One of the shipments was paid for using a card registered to one of these individuals. This card, along with one of the stolen passports, was found during a search of Filkins' home.

Filkins, Stewart and Hamilton were found guilty on January 13, 2023, after a trial at Croydon Crown Court. They were sentenced today, May 31, 2024, to 12 years, 12 years and 13 years and six months respectively by the same court.

Richard Smith, from the Organized Crime Partnership, said: “This organized crime group sought to make huge profits by trafficking dangerous drugs to Australia. They used Stewart's extensive knowledge of the freight industry to try to ensure their shipments went overseas. We have worked closely with the Australian Federal Police to dismantle this criminal supply chain and protect the public in both countries from the impact of the illegal drug trade.

Detective Superintendent Callum Hughes, the AFP's senior officer in London, said: “This result should serve as a warning to those seeking to undertake this type of criminal activity; the risk of prolonged imprisonment far outweighs the short-term benefits of your actions. » Through its agents based in London, it has excellent relationships with UK law enforcement agencies such as the NCA and the chances of a group or individual being identified and prosecuted for this type of criminal behavior are low. never been so high.