The street value of the recovered drugs exceeds £1 million
Three men have been jailed after more than a tonne of cannabis was seized by police in Kent and London. On Wednesday, November 13 2024, an unmarked Kent Police patrol car requested a suspicious Ford Transit van to stop in Wrotham Road, Gravesend.
Officers noted that the driver, Ramesh Tuladhar, appeared nervous as did the passenger, Jack Phillips. The two gave inconsistent reasons for their travel, prompting officers to search the vehicle.
Inside, officers found more than 500kg of vacuum sealed cannabis as well as £2,005 in cash. Tuladhar and Phillips were subsequently arrested.
An investigation was launched and detectives used CCTV to track the van’s movements, showing a different man had been driving it alone shortly before the stop. From the footage, investigators determined the driver was Sukhwant Goraya and he was arrested later that day in a different car.
A search was carried out at two properties linked to Phillips, namely his home address in Poplar Road, Brixton, London and a property in Station Approach, Wanstead, London, where they found a further 933kg of cannabis and paraphernalia including scales and a drug press.
Even more cannabis was discovered during a search of Tuladhar’s home in Norcott Road, Stoke Newington, London.
Tuladhar, 58, and Phillips, 70, pleaded guilty at Medway Magistrates’ Court to possession with intent to supply cannabis. Goraya, 59, of no fixed address, pleaded not guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis and was convicted following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court.
The three men appeared together at the same court for sentencing on Tuesday, December 23. Tuladhar was jailed for two years, Goraya received a prison sentence of three years and Phillips was imprisoned for five years.
Detective Constable Aaron Chapman said: “We estimate the combined haul of cannabis to be around 1.3 tonnes of cannabis, with a street value exceeding £1million.
“These criminals were making a significant profit and it is pleasing to have seized a significant quantity of drugs from them whilst seizing some of the dealers’ ill-gotten gains.
“This case highlights the effectiveness of proactive policing and we’re very pleased to see these three men will spend a significant amount of time in prison.”
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