Drug Factory Busted in Surrey Road Flat
A quiet Surrey Road flat was exposed as a cocaine pressing factory and drug hub after a dramatic police raid last year. Officers from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate swooped on the two-bedroom ground floor flat on the evening of Thursday 30 April 2020 following suspicion of drug dealing.
Massive Haul of Drugs, Cash & Weapons Seized
Inside the flat, officers found bags of heroin, cocaine, and cannabis scattered about, alongside over £22,000 in cash. They also uncovered large quantities of cutting agents—used to bulk up street drugs. A hydraulic press and mould for pressing cocaine into blocks revealed the scale of the operation.
The haul included 12 mobile phones linked to drug sales. A handgun—later identified as an air pistol—and a dangerous sawn-off shotgun, complete with 11 cartridges, were recovered, the latter thrown over a garden wall.
Experts estimate the street value of the seized Class A drugs at around £20,000, plus £1,000 worth of cannabis.
Two Convicted in Hard-Hitting Sentencing
Ashley Cairns, 34, and Jordan Bourton, 21, both of Surrey Road, were jailed at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday 29 October 2021 for their roles in the drug trade there. Cairns received eight years and 10 months for possession of a firearm, supplying heroin, cocaine, cannabis, and possession of criminal property. Bourton was handed six years and eight months for similar offences.
A third man connected to the case had been sentenced earlier.
Police Crackdown: Dangerous Weapons Removed from Streets
Detective Sergeant Jason Booth, leading the operation, said: “The evidence shows this property was clearly being used for the preparation and sale of illegal drugs at street level, and laundering the proceeds.”
“Perhaps most worryingly, the sawn-off shotgun recovered shows the dangerous lengths drug dealers will go to protect themselves, their commodities, and profits.”
“I am pleased this weapon has been taken off our streets so it cannot be used to threaten or harm others. I’m also glad these men can no longer prey on the vulnerable for criminal gain.”
